































































































































































































o 








' ■' A 
' ■ 1 • 



•y. 

rjy S 

* *\ 0 ** / 
\\ \ s < / • 

A V V ° S f ' k ' 


x, o. 



\V s * * / v. ' 0 > 

V ' ,,V 

^ <A 

« u ^ 



\* 

</' ,.\V 

<f‘ 

V? 


^ * a s o 


« , \ • \* 

V N " 

A 

cx A 

,\ 

, 0 N c „ 'Z" 

,A> V '/ V-< -A 

^ * &- -*2 + s' v* ✓ 

•x \ - ■; , 'Pa. A c ' la 1 <■ 

'-o' rf ft.«■- , > ; 

' '' W . 

A* 


AV. Ad M s ,, 

^ > , A * % •+<*. A. 

■■ : ^ 




’ < , 

/ 



-- ' 0 t K 



n v ' * v * 0 /- 7 c* v s 

»■ o 

K *w 


\n \ 










A ^ ", s' A' <\ A 0 '', „ V 

A v 


\°°, 




;) c *, 

o 




A * A, A 


^ \ 
o o N 

*<j 

a <■ ^ . v• <* " f^s * ;> 'X -f *> a 

«*/A » . M \’ - A A 









v* 

x ., . o > o # u i \ ■» A' ^ * ■, s A 

' ' ^ ^ ^ \> > s ' 1 /, y <? + - • '• 

X ^ j > V yf) \ 

aX‘ 

</' \v 

* V ^ v ^ ' : m" I r - ^ •%- I \ :r M§ : ^ - * t ~-.■- 

A - v- ;..- ^ a- - '■ ' iy* -v a ^ "A-> 

v ‘ *;. -.r~A: •'bo' 1 r/f :A; a ^ ; -A-l 

o. «-*'iUS * ^ -r. • >J ; - : >oo 

Tfcv 1 . ,-A " * ' s \X* 

., -, -* . : rS^^y^%^'' W 

K~ '••/■. ,v\' 







»/ I \ 


A ^ 




* aV A 


■ V 


- % ^ 
^ rK '' -c Ci - 

o o 

V , 1 • , 





CL > 

















M N. 7 ^ n 

<v ^^ 0 ^ 

V 

/<■ . v. , r ' -v. x ^'A 

■*:<• «* vrQj: %■$' - •?'..,]^ \ • 

i^W ' A % -. ^ * ■-* ■■ 

- r> ✓ '^i < A \A 

<- ^ 0 - V * A S * , . S - x 

1 1 * * ,<S> A\ X c 0 N '• 4 - **\ 

. ' 'f J ■* x 

Kp t A> 

-* v- V c 


0 



C‘ ^ ^ a 

9 a * <m a * A 

" / c> \> 

*%> v, * 

S. - AV 


\* 

a 


’’V*" so' < 0 - 

% V ’ '/, > . 0 * 

| >. '■ V .v * ■*£?*/. 

v> ^ 

* v? A 1 

• V 


« 

V A 

, 4 0 ' \ I » , V 

*' A <P „' AA ^ 

-> X * Jt ■ ^ ^ -3 

V 

oo 

if * 

V > ' ,, > 

N y 


=c 




o 


0 N 0 


O ' 1 


A * 


o 




* v * <$? <£. 

cfr x A k/ .$ x 

“V / ' ' ' \ l « * 

\ ^ g o vi^^** 

; *b o^ ■ 


\° °x. 


^ A 


\ * 0 


V 


\ v 


,V> % 
A 


0 V V 


«\ 


' ^ ■ 

* ^ 

<<> x v> * 

<*< '•: = - . 
-S w ^ 

.«<-- * ,\' V' 

- V 

s «l> 


; *s ^ 

w ^ v ^‘i r 

*• '^ ryu \ JL> ^ ' 

°<l, ^i'* \V , * / *^- 

' * # °/ c \- 

, •;:" .% ^ 


.<* o 


o n o 


A % ■ „ ,v 

*o c? 

. o M c # •/; r ' 6 ^ 


<?' «\i » 

’: - '*<? jy 

A A- 

A ’ 



*> rv 

•V '’ JLrrrrA# ” 4 S \^> O, 

. •/ ' ,A r K ' x -- x > x 




'J. 


V 
A 




\ \ H . 


n N C 


V l b 


L> 

































) 


r> 

*> 


* 



















» 



GRANADA 











































































































































HUDSON EDITION Vff f. 


CHRONICLE 

Of THE 

CONQUEST OF GRANADA 


FROM THE MSS. OF 

FRAY ANTONIO AGAPIDA 


BT 

WASHINGTON IRVING 

t f 


AUTHOR'S REVISED EDITION ' ’ 


NEW YORK 

G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS 
27 and 29 West 23D Street 

i°10^ 

v 





Entered according to Act o ’ Congress, in the year 1850, by 
Washington Irving, 

in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for tae 
Southern District of New lork. 

s o 


€ « « * 



t t i. • 
















Contents, 


% «» 



CHAPTER I. 

PASS 

Of the Kingdom of Granada, and the Tribute which it paid to the 
Castilian Crown v .„. 21 

CHAPTER II. 

Of the Embassy of Don Juan de Vera to demand Arrears of Tribute 
from the Moorish Monarch. 30 

CHAPTER III. 

Domestic Feuds in the Alhambra.—Rival Sultanas.—Predictions con¬ 
cerning Boabdil, the Heir to the Throne.—How Ferdinand medi¬ 
tates War against Granada, and how he is anticipated. 36 

CHAPTER IV. 

Expedition of Muley Abul Hassan against the Fortress of Zahara.... 41 

CHAPTER Y. 

Expedition of the Marques of Cadiz against Alhama. 47 

CHAPTER VI. 

How the People of Granada were affected on hearing of the Capture 
of Alhama ; and how the Moorish King sallied forth to regain it. 69 








8 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER YII. 

PAG* 

How the Duke of Medina Sidonia, and the Chivalry of Andalusia, 
hastened to the Relief of Alhama. 68 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Sequel of the Events at Alhama. 74 

CHAPTER IX. 

Events at Granada, and Rise of the Moorish King Boabdil el Chico.. 81 

CHAPTER X. 

Royal Expedition against Loxa.. 85 

CHAPTER XI. 

How Muley Abul Hassan made a Foray into the Lands of Medina 
Sidonia, and how he was received. 96 

CHAPTER XII. 

Foray of Spanish Cavaliers among the Mountains of Malaga. 105 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Effects of the Disasters among the Mountains of Malaga. 123 

CHAPTER XIV. 

How King Boabdil el Chico marched over the Border. 128 

CHAPTER XV. 

How the Count de Cabra sallied forth from his Castle in Quest of 
King Boabdil. 133 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The Battle of Lucena. 140 












CONTENTS. 


9 


CHAPTER XVII. 

PAGE 

Lamentations of the Moors for the Battle of Lucena.151 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

How Muley Abul Hassan profited by the Misfortunes of his Son Bo- 
abdil. 157 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Captivity of Boabdil el Chico. 160 

CHAPTER XX. 

Of the Treatment of Boabdil by the Castilian Sovereigns. 166 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Return of Boabdil from Captivity. 171 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Foray of the Moorish Alcaydes, and Battle of Lopera. 178 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Retreat of Hamet el Zegri, Alcayde of Ronda. 190 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Of the Reception at Court of the Count de Cabra and the Alcayde de 
los Donceles. 19® 

CHAPTER XXV. 

How the Marques of Cadiz concerted to surprise Zahara, and the Re¬ 
sult of his Enterprise.. • • . 201 











10 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER XXVI. 

PAGE 

Of the Fortress of Alhama, and how wisely it was governed by the 
Count de Tendilla. 207 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Foray of Christian Knights into the Territory of the Moors.215 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Attempt of El Zagal to surprise Boabdil in Almeria. 223 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

How King Ferdinand commenced another Campaign against the 
Moors, and how he laid Siege to Coin and Cartama. 228 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Siege of Ronda. 235 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

How the People of Granada invited El Zagal to the Throne, and 
how he marched to the Capital. 243 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

How the Count de Cabra attempted to capture another King, and 
how he fared in his Attempt. 249 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Expedition against the Castles of Cambil and Alabahar. 258 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

Enterprise of the Knights of Calatrava against Zalea.267 











CONTENTS . 


11 


CHAPTER XXXY. 

?AGK 

Death of Muley Abul Hassan. 274 

CHAPTER XXXYI. 

Of the Christian Army which assembled at the City of Cordova. 279 

CHAPTER XXXYII. 

How fresh Commotions broke out in Granada, and how the People 
undertook to allay them.287 

CHAPTER XXXYIII. 

How King Ferdinand held a Council of War, at the Rock of the 
Lovers.291 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

How the Royal Army appeared before the City of Loxa, and how it 
was received; and of the doughty Achievements of the English 
Earl.295 

CHAPTER XL. 

Conclusion of the Siege of Loxa. 803 

CHAPTER XLI. 

Capture of Illora. 307 

CHAPTER XLII. 

Of the Arrival of Queen Isabella at the Camp before Moclin ; and of 
the Pleasant Sayings of the English Earl.311 

CHAPTER XLIII. 

How King Ferdinand attacked Moclin, and of the strange Events 
that attended its Capture. 317 











12 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER XLIV. 

PAGE 

How King Ferdinand foraged the Vega : and of the Battle of the 
Bridge of Pinos, and the Fate of the two Moorish Brothers. 323 

CHAPTER XLV. 

Attempt of El Zagal upon the Life of Boabdil, and how the latter 
was roused to Action. 331 

CHAPTER XLVI. 

How Boabdil returned secretly to Granada, and how he was re¬ 
ceived.—Second Embassy of Don Juan de Vera, and his Perils 
in the Alhambra. 335 

CHAPTER XLVII. 

How King Ferdinand laid Siege to Velez Malaga...344 

CHAPTER XLVIII. 

How King Ferdinand and his Army were exposed to imminent Peril, 
before Velez Malaga. 355 

CHAPTER XLIX. 

Result of the Stratagem of El Zagal to surprise King Ferdinand.... 362 

CHAPTER L. 

How the People of Granada rewarded the Valor of El Zagal.368 

CHAPTER LI. 

Surrender of Velez Malaga and other Places.372 









CONTENTS. 


13 


CHAPTER LII. 

PAGE 

Of the City of Malaga, and its Inhabitants.—Mission of Hernando 
del Pulgar. 375 

CHAPTER LIII. 

Advance of King Ferdinand against Malaga. 384 

CHAPTER LIV. 

Siege of Malaga.390 

CHAPTER LV. 

Siege of Malaga continued.—Obstinacy of Hamet el Zegri.394 

CHAPTER LVI. 

Attack of the Marques of Cadiz upon Gibralfaro.398 

CHAPTER LVII. 

Siege of Malaga continued.—Stratagems of various Kinds. 403 

CHAPTER LVIII. 

Sufferings of the People of Malaga.408 

CHAPTER LIX. 

How a Moorish Santon undertook to deliver the City of Malaga from 
the Power of its Enemies.... .413 

CHAPTER LX. 

How Hamet el Zegri was hardened in his Obstinacy, by the Arts of a 
Moorish Astrologer.. 419 











14 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER LXI. 

PAGE 

Siege of Malaga continued.—Destruction of a Tower, by Francisco 
Ramirez de Madrid. 424 

CHAPTER LXII. 

How the People of Malaga expostulated with Hamet el Zegri.427 

CHAPTER LXIII. 

How Hamet el Zegri sallied forth with the sacred Banner, to attack 
the Christian Camp. 431 

CHAPTER LXIV. 

How the City of Malaga capitulated. 437 

CHAPTER LXV. 

Fulfillment of the Prophecy of the Dervise. — Fate of Hamet el 
Zegri. 444 

CHAPTER LXYI. 

Row the Castilian Sovereigns took Possession of the City of Malaga, 
and how King Ferdinand signalized himself by his Skill in bar¬ 
gaining with the Inhabitants for their Ransom. 448 

CHAPTER LXVII. 

How King Ferdinand prepared to carry the War into a Different 
Part of the Territories of the Moors. 457 

CHAPTER LXVIII. 

How King Ferdinand invaded the Eastern Side of the Kingdom of 
Granada, and how he was received by El Zagal..463 

CHAPTER LXIX. 

How the Moors made various Enterprises against the Christians.469 











CONTENTS. 


15 


CHAPTER LXX. 

PAQB 

How King Ferdinand prepared to besiege the City of Baza, and how 
the City prepared for Defense. 474 

CHAPTER LXXI. 

The Battle of the Gardens before Baza.482 

CHAPTER LXXII. 

Siege of Baza.—Embarrassments of the Army.488 

CHAPTER LXXIII. 

Siege of Baza continued.—How King Ferdinand completely invested 
the City. 493 

CHAPTER LXXIY. 

Exploit of Hernando Perez del Pulgar and other Cavaliers. 497 

CHAPTER LXXY. 

Continuation of the Siege of Baza. 502 

CHAPTER LXXYI. 

How two Friars from the Holy Land arrived at the Camp. 507 

CHAPTER LXXVII. 

How Queen Isabella devised Means to supply the Army with Provi¬ 
sions. 514 

CHAPTER LXXYIII. 

Of the Disasters which befell the Camp. 518 

CHAPTER LXXIX. 

Encounters between the Christians and Moors before Baza ; and the 
Devotion of the Inhabitants to the Defense of their City.523 












16 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER LXXX. 

PA G* 

How Queen Isabella arrived at the Camp, and the Consequences of 
her Arrival.528 

CHAPTER LXXXI. 

Surrender of Baza.533 

CHAPTER LXXXII. 

Submission of El Zagal to the Castilian Sovereigns.541 

CHAPTER LXXXIII. 

Events at Granada, subsequent to the Submission of El Zagal.551 

CHAPTER LXXXIV. 

How King Ferdinand turned his Hostilities against the City of Gra¬ 
nada. 558 

CHAPTER LXXXY. 

The Fate of the Castle of Roma. 565 

CHAPTER LXXXYI. 

How Boabdil el Chico took the Field; and his Expedition against 
Alhendin. 570 

CHAPTER LXXXYII. 

Exploit of the Count de Tendilla.574 

CHAPTER LXXXYIII. 

Expedition of Boabdil el Chico against Salobrena.—Exploit of Her- 
nan Perez del Pulgar. 582 











CONTENTS. 


17 


CHAPTER LXXXIX. 

PAGE 

How King Ferdinand treated the People of Guadix, and how El 
Zagal finished his Regal Career. 590 

CHAPTER XC. 

Preparations of Granada for a Desperate Defense. 596 

CHAPTER XCI. 

How King Ferdinand conducted the Siege cautiously ; and how 
Queen Isabella arrived at the Camp. 603 

CHAPTER XCII. 

Of the Insolent Defiance of Tarfe the Moor, and the Daring Exploit 
of Hernan Perez del Pulgar.. 606 

CHAPTER XCIII. 

How Queen Isabella took a View of the City of Granada, and how 
her Curiosity cost the Lives of many Christians and Moors. 610 

CHAPTER XCIV. 

The Last Ravage before Granada. 621 

CHAPTER XCV. 

Conflagration of the Christian Camp.—Building of Santa F6. 620 

CHAPTER XCYI. 

Famine and Discord in the City. 633 

CHAPTER XCVII. 

Capitulation of Granada.635 

2 











18 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER XCVIIL 

PAGE 

Commotions in Granada. 640 

CHAPTER XCIX. 

Surrender of Granada. 645 

CHAPTER C. 

How the Castilian Sovereigns took Possession of Granada. 654 

Appendix . 661 

X If?* ■ 








A CHRONICLE 


OP THE 

CON - QUEST OF GEAMDA. 


CHAPTER L 


OF THE KINGDOM OF GRANADA, AND THE TRIBUTE WHICH IT PAID TO THE 
CASTILIAN CROWN. 



HE history of those bloody and disastrous wars, 
which have caused the downfall of mighty em¬ 
pires (observes Fray Antonio Agapida), has 
ever been considered a study highly delectable, and full 
of precious edification. What then must be the history 
of a pious crusade, waged by the most Catholic of sover¬ 
eigns, to rescue from the power of the infidels one of 
the most beautiful but benighted regions of the globe? 
Listen then, while, from the solitude of my cell, I relate 
the events of the conquest of Granada, where Chris¬ 
tian knight and turbaned infidel disputed, inch by inch, 
the fair land of Andalusia, until the crescent, that sym¬ 
bol of heathenish abomination, was cast down, and the 

21 











22 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

blessed cross, the tree of our redemption, erected in its 
stead. 

Nearly eight hundred years were past and gone, since 
the Arabian invaders had sealed the perdition of Spain, 
by the defeat of Don Roderick, the last of her Gothic 
kings. Since that disastrous event, one portion after 
another of the peninsula had been gradually recovered 
by the Christian princes, until the single, but powerful 
and warlike territory of Granada, alone remained under 
the domination of the Moors. 

This renowned kingdom, situated in the southern part 
of Spain, and washed on one side by the Mediterranean 
sea, was traversed in every direction by sierras or chains 
of lofty and rugged mountains, naked, rocky, and precipi¬ 
tous, rendering it almost impregnable, but locking up 
within their sterile embraces deep, rich, and verdant val¬ 
leys of prodigal fertility. 

In the centre of the kingdom lay its capital, the beauti¬ 
ful city of Granada, sheltered, as it were, in the lap of 
the Sierra Nevada, or Snowy Mountains. Its houses, 
seventy thousand in number, covered two lofty hills 
with their declivities, and a deep valley between them, 
through which flowed the Darro. The streets were nar¬ 
row, as is usual in Moorish and Arab cities, but there 
were occasionally small squares and open places. The 
houses had gardens and interior courts, set out with 
orange, citron, and pomegranate trees, and refreshed by 
fountains, so that as the edifices ranged above each other 


THE CITY OF GRANADA. 


23 


up the sides of the hills, they presented a delightful 
appearance of mingled grove and city. One of the hills 
was surmounted by the Alcazaba, a strong fortress, com¬ 
manding all that part of the city; the other by the Al¬ 
hambra, a royal palace and warrior castle, capable of 
containing within its alcazar and towers a garrison of 
forty thousand men; but possessing also its harem, the 
voluptuous abode of the Moorish monarchs, laid out 
with courts and gardens, fountains and baths, and stately 
halls, decorated in the most costly style of oriental 
luxury. According to Moorish tradition, the king who 
built this mighty and magnificent pile, was skilled in the 
occult sciences, and furnished himself with the neces¬ 
sary funds by means of alchemy.* Such was its lavish 
splendor that even at the present day, the stranger, 
wandering through its silent courts and deserted halls, 
gazes with astonishment at gilded ceilings and fretted 
domes, the brilliancy and beauty of which have survived 
the vicissitudes of war and the silent dilapidation of 
ages. 

The city was surrounded by high walls, three leagues 
in circuit, furnished with twelve gates, and a thousand 
and thirty towers. Its elevation above the sea, and the 
neighborhood of the Sierra Nevada crowned with per¬ 
petual snows, tempered the fervid rays of summer; so 
that, while other cities were panting with the sultry and 


♦Zurita, lib. 20, c. 42. 





24 


CONQUEST OF OR AN AD A. 


stifling heat of the dog-days, the most salubrious breezes 
played through the marble halls of Granada. 

The glory of the city, however, was its vega or plain, 
which spread out to a circumference of thirty-seven 
leagues, surrounded by lofty mountains, and was proudly 
compared to the famous plain of Damascus. It was a 
vast garden of delight, refreshed by numerous fountains, 
and by the silver windings of the Xenil. The labor and 
ingenuity of the Moors had diverted the waters of this 
river into thousands of rills and streams, and diffused 
them over the whole surface of the plain. Indeed, they 
had wrought up this happy region to a degree of won¬ 
derful prosperity, and took a pride in decorating it, as if 
it had been a favorite mistress. The hills were clothed 
with orchards and vineyards, the valleys embroidered 
with gardens, and the wide plains covered with waving 
grain. Here were seen in profusion the orange, the cit¬ 
ron, the fig, and pomegranate, with great plantations of 
mulberry trees, from which was produced the finest silk. 
The vine clambered from tree to tree; the grapes hung 
in rich clusters about the peasant’s cottage, and the 
groves were rejoiced by the perpetual song of the night¬ 
ingale. In a word, so beautiful was the earth, so pure 
the air, and so serene the sky of this delicious region, 
that the Moors imagined the paradise of their prophet 
to be situated in that part of the heaven which overhung 
the kingdom of Granada. 

Within this favored realm, so prodigally endowed and 


LUXURY OF THE MOORS . 


25 


strongly fortified by nature, the Moslem wealth, valor, 
and intelligence, which had once shed such a lustre over 
Spain, had gradually retired, and here they made their 
final stand. Granada had risen to splendor on the ruin 
of other Moslem kingdoms ; but in so doing had become 
the sole object of Christian hostility, and had to main¬ 
tain its very existence by the sword. The Moorish capi¬ 
tal accordingly presented a singular scene of Asiatic lux¬ 
ury and refinement, mingled with the glitter and the din 
of arms. Letters were still cultivated, philosophy and 
poetry had their schools and disciples, and the language 
spoken was said to be the most elegant Arabic. A pas¬ 
sion for dress and ornament pervaded all ranks. That 
of the princesses and ladies of high rank, says A1 Kattib, 
one of their own writers, was carried to a height of lux¬ 
ury and magnificence that bordered on delirium. They 
wore girdles and bracelets and anklets of gold and silver, 
wrought with exquisite art and delicacy, and studded 
with jacinths, chrysolites, emeralds, and other precious 
stones. They were fond of braiding and decorating their 
beautiful long tresses, or confining them in knots spar¬ 
kling with jewels. They were finely formed, excessively 
fair, graceful in their manners, and fascinating in their 
conversation; when they smiled, says A1 Kattib, they 
displayed teeth of dazzling whiteness, and their breath 
was as the perfume of flowers. 

The Moorish cavaliers, when not in armor, delighted in 
dressing themselves in Persian style, in garments of 


26 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


wool, of silk, or cotton, of tlie finest texture, beautifully 
wrought with stripes of various colors. In winter they 
wore, as an outer garment, the African cloak or Tunisian 
albornoz; but in the heat of summer, they arrayed them¬ 
selves in linen of spotless whiteness. The same luxury 
prevailed in their military equipments. Their armor 
was inlaid and chased with gold and silver. The sheaths 
of their scimetars were richly labored and enameled, the 
blades were of Damascus, bearing texts from the Koran, 
or martial and amorous mottoes; the belts were of golden 
filigree, studded with gems; their poniards of Fez, were 
wrought in the arabesque fashion; their lances bore gay 
bandaroles; their horses were sumptuously caparisoned 
with housings of green and crimson velvet, wrought with 
silk and enameled with gold and silver. All this warlike 
luxury of the youthful chivalry was encouraged by the 
Moorish kings, who ordained that no tax should be im¬ 
posed on the gold and silver employed in these embel¬ 
lishments ; and the same exception was extended to the 
bracelets and other ornaments worn by the fair dames of 
Granada. 

Of the chivalrous gallantry which prevailed between 
ihe sexes in this romantic period of Moorish history, we 
have traces in the thousand ballads which have come 
down to our day, and which have given a tone and color¬ 
ing to Spanish amatory literature, and to everything in 
Spain connected with the tender passion. 

War was the normal state of Granada and its inhabit- 


PAYMENT OF TRIBUTE. 


27 


ants; the common people were subject at any moment 
to be summoned to the field, and all the upper class was 
a brilliant chivalry. The Christian princes, so success¬ 
ful in regaining the rest of the peninsula, found their 
triumphs checked at the mountain boundaries of this 
kingdom. Every peak had its atalaya or watch-tower, 
ready to make its fire by night or to send up its column 
of smoke by day, a signal of invasion, at which the whole 
country was on the alert. To penetrate the defiles of this 
perilous country, to surprise a frontier fortress or to make 
a foray into the vega and a hasty ravage within sight of 
the very capital, were among the most favorite and dar¬ 
ing exploits of the Castilian chivalry. But they never 
pretended to hold the region thus ravaged; it was sack, 
burn, plunder, and away! and these desolating inroads 
were retaliated in kind by the Moorish cavaliers, whose 
greatest delight was a tala , or predatory incursion into 
the Christian territories beyond the mountains. 

A partisan warfare of this kind had long existed be¬ 
tween Granada and its most formidable antagonist, the 
kingdoms of Castile and Leon. It was one which called 
out the keen yet generous rivalry of Christian and Mos¬ 
lem cavaliers, and gave rise to individual acts of chival¬ 
rous gallantry and daring prowess ; but it was one which 
was gradually exhausting the resources and sapping the 
strength of Granada. One of the latest of its kings, 
therefore, Aben Ismael by name, disheartened by a foray 
which had laid waste the vega, and conscious that the 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


28 

balance of warfare was against bis kingdom, made a 
truce in 1457 with Henry IV., King of Castile and Leon, 
stipulating to pay him an annual tribute of twelve thou¬ 
sand doblas or pistoles of gold, and to liberate annually 
six hundred Christian captives, or in default of captives 
to give an equal number of Moors as hostages; all to be 
delivered at the city of Cordova.* 

The truce, however, was of a partial nature, with sin¬ 
gular reservations. It did not include the Moorish fron¬ 
tier towards Jaen, which was to remain open for the war¬ 
like enterprises of either nation; neither did it prohibit 
sudden attacks upon towns and castles, provided they 
were mere forays, conducted furtively, without sound of 
trumpet or display of banners, or pitching of camps, or 
regular investment, and that they did not last above 
three days.f 

Aben Ismael was faithful in observing the conditions 
of the truce, but they were regarded with impatience by 
his eldest son, Muley Abul Hassan, a prince of a fiery 
and belligerent spirit, and fond of casing himself in ar¬ 
mor and mounting his war-horse. He had been present 
at Cordova at one of the payments of tribute, and had 
witnessed the scoffs and taunts of the Christians, and his 
blood boiled whenever he recalled the humiliating scene. 
When he came to the throne in 1465, on the death of his 

* Garibay, Compend. lib. 17, c. 3. 

t Zurita, Anales de Aragon , lib. 20, c. 42. Mariana, Hist, de Espafia, 
lib. 25, c. 1. Bleda, Coron. de Moros, lib. 5, c. 3. 


PAYMENT OF TRIBUTE. 


29 


father, he ceased the payment of the tribute altogether, 
and it was sufficient to put him into a tempest of rage 
only to mention it. 

“ He was a fierce and warlike infidel,” says the pious 
Fray Antonio Agapida ; “ his bitterness against the holy 
Christian faith had been signalized in battle during the 
lifetime of his father, and the same diabolical spirit of 
hostility was apparent in his ceasing to pay this most 
righteous tribute.” 


CHAPTER H. 


OF THE EMBASSY OF DON JUAN DE YERA TO DEMAND ARREARS OF TRIBUTE 
FROM THE MOORISH MONARCH. 


IE flagrant want of faith of Muley Abnl Has- 
san in fulfilling treaty stipulations, passed un¬ 
resented during the residue of the reign of 
Henry the Impotent, and the truce was tacitly contin¬ 
ued without the enforcement of tribute, during the first 
three years of the reign of his successors, Ferdinand 
and Isabella, of glorious and happy memory, who were 
too much engrossed by civil commotions in their own 
dominions and by a war of succession waged with them 
by the king of Portugal, to risk an additional conflict 
with the Moorish sovereign. When, however, at the 
expiration of the term of truce, Muley Abul Hassan 
sought a renewal of it, the pride and piety of the Casti¬ 
lian sovereigns were awakened to the flagrant defalca¬ 
tion of the infidel king, and they felt themselves called 
upon, by their religious obligations as champions of 
the faith, to make a formal demand for the payment of 
arrearages. 

In the year of grace 1478, therefore, Don Juan de 



30 






EMBASSY OF DON JUAN DE VERA. 


31 


Yera, a zealous and devout knight, full of ardor for the 
faith and loyalty to the crown, was sent as ambassador 
for the purpose. He was armed at all points, gallantly 
mounted, and followed by a moderate but well-appointed 
retinue; in this way he crossed the Moorish frontier, 
and passed slowly through the country, looking round 
him with the eyes of a practiced warrior, and carefully 
noting its military points and capabilities. He saw 
that the Moor was well prepared for possible hostilities. 
Every town was strongly fortified. The vega was stud¬ 
ded with towers of refuge for the peasantry, every pass 
of the mountain had its castle of defense, every lofty 
height its watch-tower. As the Christian cavaliers 
passed under the wails of the fortresses, lances and scim- 
etars flashed from their battlements, and the Moorish 
sentinels darted from their dark eyes glances of hatred 
and defiance. It was evident that a war with this king¬ 
dom must be a war of posts, full of doughty peril and 
valiant enterprise; where every step must be gained by 
toil and bloodshed, and maintained with the utmost diffi¬ 
culty. The warrior spirit of the cavaliers kindled at the 
thoughts, and they were impatient for hostilities ; “ not,” 
says Antonio Agapida, “ from any thirst for rapine and 
revenge, but from that pure and holy indignation which 
every Spanish knight entertained at beholding this beau¬ 
tiful dominion of his ancestors defiled by the footsteps o> 
infidel usurpers. It was impossible,” he adds, “to con 
template this delicious country, and not long to see 


32 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


restored to the dominion of the true faith, and the sway 
of the Christian monarchs.” 

Arrived at the gates of Granada, Don Juan de Vera 
and his companions saw the same vigilant preparations 
on the part of the Moorish king. His walls and towers 
were of vast strength, in complete repair, and mounted 
with lombards and other heavy ordnance. His maga¬ 
zines were well stored with munitions of war; he had a 
mighty host of foot-soldiers, together with squadrons of 
cavalry, ready to scour the country, and carry on either 
defensive or predatory warfare. The Christian warriors 
noted these things without dismay; their hearts rather 
glowed with emulation, at the thoughts of encountering 
so worthy a foe. As they slowly pranced through the 
streets of Granada, they looked round with eagerness on 
its stately palaces and sumptuous mosques; on its alcay- 
ceria or bazar, crowded with silks and cloth of silver and 
gold, with jewels and precious stones, and other rich 
merchandise, the luxuries of every clime; and they 
longed for the time when all this wealth should be the 
spoil of the soldiers of the faith, and when each tramp of 
their steeds might be fetlock deep in the blood and car¬ 
nage of the infidels. 

The Moorish inhabitants looked jealously at this small 
but proud array of Spanish chivalry, as it paraded, with 
that stateliness possessed only by Spanish cavaliers, 
through the renowned gate of Elvira. They were struck 
with the stern and lofty demeanor of Don Juan de Vera, 


EMBASSY OF DON JUAN DE VERA. 


33 


and his sinewy frame, which showed him formed for 
hardy deeds of arms ; and they supposed he had come 
in search of distinction, by defying the Moorish knights 
in open tourney, or in the famous tilt with reeds, for 
which they were so renowned; for it was still the custom 
of the knights of either nation to mingle in these cour¬ 
teous and chivalrous contests during the intervals of war. 
When they learned, however, that he was come to de¬ 
mand the tribute so abhorrent to the ears of the fiery 
monarch, they observed that it well required a warrior 
of his apparent nerve to execute such an embassy. 

Muley Abul Hassan received the cavalier in state, 
seated on a magnificent divan, and surrounded by the 
officers of his court, in the hall of ambassadors, one of 
the most sumptuous apartments of the Alhambra. When 
De Yera had delivered his message, a haughty and bitter 
smile curled the lip of the fierce monarch. “ Tell your 
sovereigns,” said he, “that the kings of Granada, who 
used to pay tribute in money to the Castilian crown, are 
dead. Our mint at present coins nothing but blades of 
scimetars and heads of lances.” * 

The defiance couched in this proud reply was heard 
with secret satisfaction by Don Juan de Yera, for he was 
a bold soldier and a devout hater of the infidels; and 
he saw iron war in the words of the Moorish monarch. 
Being master, however, of all points of etiquette, he re- 

* Garibay, lib. 40, c. 29. Conde, Hist. Arab., pt. 4, c. 34. 

3 


34 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


tained an inflexible demeanor, and retired from the apart¬ 
ment with stately and ceremonious gravity. His treat¬ 
ment was suited to his rank and dignity; a magnificent 
apartment in the Alhambra was assigned to him; and be¬ 
fore his departure a scimetar was sent to him by the king; 
the blade of the finest Damascus steel, the hilt of agate, 
i enriched with precious stones, and the guard of gold. De 
Vera drew it, and smiled grimly as he noticed the admirable 
temper of the blade. “ His majesty has given me a trench¬ 
ant weapon,” said he: “I trust a time will come when I 
may show him that I know how to use his royal present.” 
The reply was considered a compliment, of course ; the by¬ 
standers little knew the bitter hostility that lay couched 
beneath. 

On his return to Cordova, Don Juan de Vera delivered 
the reply of the Moor, but at the same time reported the 
state of his territories. These had been strengthened 
and augmented during the weak reign of Henry IV. and 
the recent troubles of Castile. Many cities and strong 
places contiguous to Granada, but heretofore conquered 
by the Christians, had renewed their allegiance to Muley 
Abul Hassan, so that his kingdom now contained four¬ 
teen cities, ninety-seven fortified places, besides numer¬ 
ous unwalled towns and villages defended by formida¬ 
ble castles, while Granada towered in the centre as the 
citadel. 

The wary Ferdinand, as he listened to the military 
report of Don Juan de Vera, saw that the present was no 


EMBASSY OF DON JUAN DE VERA. 


35 


time for hostilities with a warrior kingdom, so bristled 
over with means of defense. The internal discords of 
Castile still continued, as did the war with Portugal; 
under these circumstances he forbore to insist upon the 
payment of tribute, and tacitly permitted the truce to con¬ 
tinue ; but the defiance contained in the reply of Muley 
Abul Hassan remained rankling in his bosom as a future 
ground of war; and De Vera’s description of Granada as 
the centre of a system of strongholds and rock-built castles, 
suggested to him his plan of conquest; by taking town 
after town, and fortress after fortress, and gradually pluck¬ 
ing away all the supports before he attempted the capital. 
He expressed his resolution in a memorable pun, or play 
upon the name of Granada, which signifies a pomegranate. 
“ I will pick out the seeds of this pomegranate one by one,” 
said the cool and crafty Ferdinand. 

Note.— In the first edition of this work the author recounted a 
characteristic adventure of the stout Juan de Vera, as happening on 
the occasion of this embassy ; a further consultation of historical 
authorities has induced him to transfer it to a second embassy of De 
Vera’s ; which the reader will find related in a subsequent chapter. 


CHAPTER III. 


DOMESTIC FEUDS IN THE ALHAMBRA.—RIVAL SULTANAS.—PREDICTIONS CON¬ 
CERNING BOABDIL THE HEIR TO THE THRONE.—HOW FERDINAND MEDI¬ 
TATES WAR AGAINST GRANADA, AND HOW HE IS ANTICIPATED. 


HOUGH Muley Abul Hassan was at peace in 
his external relations, a civil war raged in his 
harem, which it is proper to notice, as it had a 
fatal effect upon the fortunes of the kingdom. Though 
cruel by nature, he was uxorious, and somewhat prone to 
be managed by his wives. Early in life he had married 
his kinswoman, Ayxa (or Ayesha), daughter of his great 
uncle the Sultan Mohammed YII., surnamed El Hayzari, 
or the left-handed. She was a woman of almost mascu¬ 
line spirit and energy, and of such immaculate and inac¬ 
cessible virtue, that she was generally called La Horra, 
or the Chaste. By her he had a son, Abu Abdallah; or, 
as he is commonly named by historians, Boabdil. The 
court astrologers, according to custom, cast the horo¬ 
scope of the infant, but were seized with fear and 
trembling as they regarded it. “ Allah Achbar! God is 
great! ” exclaimed they, “ He alone controls the fate of 
empires. It is written in the book of fate that this child 







FEUDS IN TEE ALHAMBRA. 


37 


will one day sit upon the throne, but that the downfall of 
the kingdom will be accomplished during his reign.” 
From that time the prince had been regarded with aver¬ 
sion by his father; and the prediction which hung over 
him, and the persecutions to which he became subjected, 
procured him the surname of El Zogoybi, or The Un¬ 
fortunate. He grew up, however, under the protection 
of his valiant-hearted mother, who, by the energy of her 
character, long maintained an undisputed sway in the 
harem, until, as her youth passed away and her beauty 
declined, a formidable rival arose. 

In one of the forays of the Moorish chivalry into the 
Christian territories, they had surprised a frontier for¬ 
tress, commanded by Sancho Ximenes de Solis, a noble 
and valiant cavalier, who fell in bravely defending it. 
Among the captives was his daughter Isabella, then al¬ 
most in her infancy; who was brought to Granada, deli¬ 
cately raised, and educated in the Moslem faith.* Her 
Moorish captors gave her the name of Fatima, but as she 
grew up her surpassing beauty gained her the surname 
of Zoraya, or the Morning Star, by which she has become 
known in history. Her charms at length attracted the 
notice of Muley Abul Hassan, and she soon became a 
member of his harem. Some have spoken of her as a 
Christian slave, whom he had made his concubine; but 
others, with more truth, represent her as one of his 


* Cronica del Gra/n. Cardinal, cap. 71. 


38 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


wives, and ultimately his favorite Sultana; and indeed it 
was often the case that female captives of rank and 
beauty, when converted to the faith of Islam, became 
united to the proudest and loftiest of their captors. 

Zoraya soon acquired complete ascendency over the 
mind of Muley Abul Hassan. She was as ambitious as 
she was beautiful, and, having become the mother of two 
sons, looked forward to the possibility of one of them 
sitting on the throne of Granada. These ambitious views 
were encouraged, if not suggested, by a faction which 
gathered round her, inspired by kindred sympathies. 
The king’s vizier, Abul Cacem Yanegas, who had great 
influence over him, was, like Zoraya, of Christian de¬ 
scent, being of the noble house of Luque. His father, 
one of the Yanegas of Cordova, had been captured in in¬ 
fancy and brought up as a Moslem.* From him sprang 
the vizier, Abul Cacem Yanegas, and his brother Eeduan 
Yanegas, likewise high in rank in the court of Muley 
Abul Hassan; and they had about them numerous and 
powerful connections, all basking in court favor. Though 
Moslems in faith, they were all drawn to Zoraya by 
the tie of foreign and Christian descent, and sought to 
elevate her and her children to the disparagement of 
Ayxa la Horra and her son Boabdil. The latter, on the 
other hand, were supported by the noble and once po¬ 
tent family of the Abencerrages, and by Aben Comixer, 


* Cura de los Palacios, Hist, de los Reyes Catol. cap. 56. 



STRENGTH OF ZAHARA. 


39 


alcayde of the Alhambra; and between these two fac¬ 
tions, headed by rival sultanas, the harem of Muley Abul 
Hassan became the scene of inveterate jealousies and in¬ 
trigues which, in time, as will be shown, led to popular 
commotions and civil wars.* 

While these female feuds were threatening Muley 
Abul Hassan with trouble and disaster at home, his evil 
genius prompted him to an enterprise which involved 
him in tenfold danger from abroad. The reader has 
already been apprised of a singular clause in the truce 
existing between the Christians and the Moors, permit¬ 
ting hasty dashes into each other’s territories, and as¬ 
saults of towns and fortresses, provided they were car¬ 
ried on as mere forays, and without the parade of regular 
warfare. A long time had elapsed, however, without any 
incursion of the kind on the part of the Moors, and the 
Christian towns on the frontiers had, in consequence, 
fallen into a state of the most negligent security. In an 
unlucky moment, Muley Abul Hassan was tempted to 
one of these forays by learning that the fortress of Za- 
hara, on the frontier between Honda and Medina Sidonia, 
was but feebly garrisoned and scantily supplied, and that 
its alcayde was careless of his charge. This important 
post was built on the crest of a rocky mountain, with a 

* It is to be noted that several historians have erroneously represented 
Zoraya as the mother of Boabdil, instead of Ayxa la Horra; and the 
Abencerrages as the opponents of Boabdil, instead of his strenuous ad¬ 
herents. The statement in the text is according to the most reliable 
authorities. 


40 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


strong castle perched above it, upon a cliff, so high that 
it was said to be above the flight of birds or drift of 
clouds. The streets and many of the houses were mere 
excavations, wrought out of the living rock. The town 
had but one gate, opening to the west, and defended by 
towers and bulwarks. The only ascent to this cragged 
fortress was by roads cut in the rock, so rugged in many 
places as to resemble broken stairs. In a word, the im¬ 
pregnable security of Zahara had become so proverbial 
throughout Spain, that a woman of forbidding and inac¬ 
cessible virtue was called a Zaharena. But the strongest 
fortress and sternest virtue have weak points, and re¬ 
quire unremitting vigilance to guard them: let warrioi 
and dame take warning from the fate of Zahara. 


CHAPTER IV. 


EXPEDITION OF MDLET ABUL HASSAN AGAINST THE FORTRESS OF ZAHARA. 

N the year of our Lord one thousand four hun¬ 
dred and eighty-one, and but a night or two 
after the festival of the most blessed Nativity, 
the inhabitants of Zahara were sunk in profound sleep; 
the very sentinel had deserted his post, and sought 
shelter from a tempest which had raged for three nights 
in succession; for it appeared but little probable that an 
enemy would be abroad during such an uproar of the 
elements. But evil spirits work best during a storm. 
In the midst of the night, an uproar rose within the wails 
of Zahara, more awful than the raging of the storm. A 
fearful alarm cry—“ The Moor ! the Moor! ” resounded 
through the streets, mingled with the clash of arms 5 
the shriek of anguish, and the shout of victory. Muley 
Abul Hassan, at the head of a powerful force, had 
hurried from Granada, and passed unobserved through 
the mountains in the obscurity of the tempest. While 
the storm pelted the sentinel from his post, and howled 
round tower and battlement, the Moors had planted their 
scaling-ladders, and mounted securely into both town 

41 





42 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


and castle. The garrison was unsuspicious of danger, 
until battle and massacre burst forth within its very 
walls. It seemed to the affrighted inhabitants, as if the 
fiends of the air had come upon the wings of the wind, 
and possessed themselves of tower and turret. The war- 
cry resounded on every side, shout answering shout 
above, below, on the battlements of the castle, in the 
streets of the town—the foe was in all parts, wrapped in 
obscurity, but acting in concert by the aid of precon¬ 
certed signals. Starting from sleep, the soldiers were 
intercepted and cut down as they rushed from their 
quarters; or if they escaped, they knew not where to 
assemble, or where to strike. Wherever lights appeared, 
the flashing scimetar was at its deadly work, and all who 
attempted resistance fell beneath its edge. 

In a little while the struggle was at an end. Those 
who were not slain took refuge in the secret places of 
their houses, or gave themselves up as captives. The 
clash of arms ceased; and the storm continued its howl¬ 
ing, mingled with the occasional shout of the Moorish 
soldiery, roaming in search of plunder. While the in¬ 
habitants were trembling for their fate, a trumpet re¬ 
sounded through the streets, summoning them all to 
assemble, unarmed, in the public square. Here they 
were surrounded by soldiery, and strictly guarded, until 
daybreak. When the day dawned, it was piteous to be¬ 
hold this once prosperous community, who had laid down 
to rest in peaceful security, now crowded together with- 



SURPRISE OF ZAEARA. 


43 


out distinction of age, or rank, or sex, and almost without 
raiment, during the severity of a wintry storm. The 
fierce Muley Abul Hassan turned a deaf ear to all their 
prayers and remonstrances, and ordered them to be con¬ 
ducted captives to Granada. Leaving a strong garrison 
in both town and castle, with orders to put them in a 
complete state of defense, he returned, flushed with 
victory, to his capital, entering it at the head of his 
troops, laden with spoil, and bearing in triumph the ban¬ 
ners and pennons taken at Zahara. 

While preparations were making for jousts and other 
festivities, in honor of this victory over the Christians, 
the captives of Zahara arrived—a wretched train of men, 
women, and children, worn out with fatigue and haggard 
with despair, and driven like cattle into the city gates, 
by a detachment of Moorish soldiery. 

Deep was the grief and indignation of the people of 
Granada at this cruel scene. Old men, who had experi¬ 
enced the calamities of warfare, anticipated coming trou¬ 
bles. Mothers clasped their infants to their breasts, as 
they beheld the hapless females of Zahara, with their 
children expiring in their arms. On every side, the ac¬ 
cents of pity for the sufferers were mingled with execra- 
' tions of the barbarity of the king. The preparations for 
festivity were neglected; and the viands, which were to 
have feasted the conquerors, were distributed among the 
captives. 

The nobles and alfaquis, however, repaired to the Al- 


44 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


hambra to congratulate the king; for, whatever storms 
may rage in the lower regions of society, rarely do any 
clouds, but clouds of incense, rise to the awful eminence 
of the throne. In this instance, however, a voice rose 
from the midst of the obsequious crowd, and burst like 
thunder upon the ears of Abul Hassan. “Woe! woe' 
woe! to Granada! ” exclaimed the voice; “ its hour of 
desolation approaches. The ruins of Zahara will fall 
upon our heads; my spirit tells me that the end of our 
empire is at hand! ” All shrank back aghast, and left the 
denouncer of woe standing alone in the centre of the hall. 
He was an ancient and hoary man, in the rude attire of a 
dervise. Age had withered his form without quenching 
the fire of his spirit, which glared in baleful lustre from 
his eyes. He was (say the Arabian historians) one of 
those holy men termed santons, who pass their fives 
in hermitages, in fasting, meditation, and prayer, until 
they attain to the purity of saints and the foresight of 
prophets. “He was,” says the indignant Fray Antonio 
Agapida, “a son of Belial, one of those fanatic infidels 
possessed, by the devil, who are sometimes permitted to 
predict the truth to their followers; but with the proviso, 
that their predictions shall be of no avail.” 

The voice of the santon resounded through the lofty 
hall of the Alhambra, and struck silence and awe into 
the crowd of courtly sycophants. Muley Abul Hassan 
alone was unmoved; he eyed the hoary anchorite with 
scorn as he stood dauntless before him, and treated his 


PREDICTION OF A SANTON. 


45 


predictions as the ravings of a maniac. The santon 
rushed from the royal presence, and, descending into the 
city, hurried through its streets and squares with frantic 
gesticulations. His voice was heard, in every part, in 
awful denunciation. “ The peace is broken! exterminat¬ 
ing war is commenced. Woe! woe! woe to Granada! 
its fall is at hand! desolation will dwell in its palaces ; 
its strong men will fall beneath the sword, its children 
and maidens be led into captivity. Zahara is but a type 
of Granada! ” 

Terror seized upon the populace, for they considered 
these ravings as the inspirations of prophecy. Some hid 
themselves in their dwellings, as in a time of general 
mourning; while some gathered together in knots in the 
streets and squares, alarming each other with dismal 
forebodings, and cursing the rashness and cruelty of the 
king. 

The Moorish monarch heeded not their murmurs. 
Knowing that his exploit must draw upon him the ven¬ 
geance of the Christians, he now threw off all reserve, 
and made attempts to surprise Castellan and Elvira, 
though without success. He sent alfaquis, also, to the 
Barbary powers, informing them that the sword was 
drawn, and inviting the African princes to aid him with 
men and supplies in maintaining the kingdom of Gra¬ 
nada, and the religion of Mahomet, against the violence 
of unbelievers. 

While discontent exhaled itself in murmurs among the 


46 


CONQUEST OF OBAN AD A. 


common people, however, it fomented in dangerous con¬ 
spiracies among the nobles, and Muley Abul Hassan was 
startled by information of a design to depose him and 
place his son Boabdil upon the throne. His first meas¬ 
ure was to confine the prince and his mother in the 
tower of Comares; then, calling to mind the prediction 
of the astrologers, that the youth would one day sit on 
the throne of Granada, he impiously set the stars at 
defiance. “ The sword of the executioner,” said he, 
“ shall prove the fallacy of those lying horoscopes, and 
shall silence the ambition of Boabdil.” 

The Sultana Ayxa, apprised of the imminent danger 
of her son, concerted a plan for his escape. At the dead 
of the night she gained access to his prison, and tying 
together the shawls and scarfs of herself and her female 
attendants, lowered him down from a balcony of the Al¬ 
hambra to the steep, rocky hill-side which sweeps down 
to the Darro. Here some of her devoted adherents were 
waiting to receive him, who, mounting him on a swift 
horse, spirited him away to the city of Guadix, in the AI- 
puxaras. 


CHAPTER Y. 

EXPEDITION OF THE MARQUES OF CADIZ AGAINST ALHAMA. 

was the indignation of King Ferdinand 
he heard of the storming of Zahara; 
1 the outrage of the Moor happened most 
opportunely. The war between Castile and Portugal 
had come to a close; the factions of the Spanish nobles 
were for the most part quelled. The Castilian monarchs 
had now, therefore, turned their thoughts to the cher¬ 
ished object of their ambition, the conquest of Granada. 
The pious heart of Isabella yearned to behold the entire 
peninsula redeemed from the domination of the infidel; 
while Ferdinand, in whom religious zeal was mingled 
with temporal policy, looked with a craving eye to the 
rich territory of the Moor, studded with wealthy towns 
and cities. Muley Abul Hassan had rashly or unwarily 
thrown the brand that was to produce the wide confla¬ 
gration. Ferdinand was not the one to quench the 
flames. He immediately issued orders to all the adelan- 
tados and alcaydes of the frontiers, to maintain the ut¬ 
most vigilance at their posts, and to prepare to carry fire 
and sword into the territories of the Moors. 



47 



48 


CONQUEST OF OR AN AD A. 


Among the many valiant cavaliers who rallied round 
the throne of Ferdinand and Isabella, one of the most 
eminent in rank and renowned in arms was Don Rode- 
rigo Ponce de Leon, Marques of Cadiz. As he was 
the distinguished champion of this holy war, and com¬ 
manded in most of its enterprises and battles, it is 
meet that some particular account should be given of 
him. He was born in 1443, of the valiant lineage of the 
Ponces, and from his earliest youth had rendered himself 
illustrious in the field. He was of the middle stature, 
with a muscular and powerful frame, capable of great ex¬ 
ertion and fatigue. His hair and beard were red and 
curled, his countenance was open and magnanimous, of a 
ruddy complexion, and slightly marked with the small¬ 
pox. He was temperate, chaste, valiant, vigilant; a just 
and generous master to his vassals; frank and noble in 
his deportment towards his equals; loving and faithful 
to his friends; fierce and terrible, yet magnanimous, to 
his enemies. He was considered the mirror of chivalry 
of his times, and compared by contemporary historians 
to the immortal Cid. 

The marques of Cadiz had vast possessions in the most 
fertile parts of Andalusia, including many towns and 
castles, and could lead forth an army into the field from 
his own vassals and dependents. On receiving the 
orders of the king, he burned to signalize himself by 
some sudden incursion into the kingdom of Granada, 
that should give a brilliant commencement to the war, 


THE MARQUES OF CADIZ. 


49 


and should console the sovereigns for the insult they had 
received in the capture of Zahara. As his estates lay 
near to the Moorish frontiers, and were subject to sud¬ 
den inroads, he had always in his pay numbers of ada- 
lides, or scouts and guides, many of them converted 
Moors. These he sent out in all directions, to watch the 
movements of the enemy, and to procure all kinds of 
information important to the security of the frontier. 
One of these spies came to him one day in his town of 
Marchena, and informed him that the Moorish town of 
Alhama was slightly garrisoned and negligently guarded, 
and might be taken by surprise. This was a large, 
wealthy, and populous place, within a few leagues of 
Granada. It was situated on a rocky height, nearly sur¬ 
rounded by a river, and defended by a fortress to which 
there was no access but by a steep and cragged ascent. 
The strength of its situation, and its being embosomed 
in the centre of the kingdom, had produced the careless 
security which now invited attack. 

To ascertain fully the state of the fortress, the marques 
dispatched secretly a veteran soldier, who was highly in 
his confidence. His name was Ortega de Prado, a man 
of great activity, shrewdness, and valor, and captain of 
escaladors (soldiers employed to scale the walls of for¬ 
tresses in time of attack). Ortega approached Alhama 
one moonless night, and paced along its walls with noise¬ 
less step, laying his ear occasionally to the ground or 
to the wall. Every time, he distinguished die measured 
4 


50 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


tread of a sentinel, and now and then the challenge of the 
night-watch going its rounds. Finding the town thus 
guarded he clambered to the castle:—there all was 
silent. As he ranged its lofty battlements, between him 
and the sky he saw no sentinel on duty. He noticed 
certain places where the wall might be ascended by sca¬ 
ling-ladders ; and having marked the hour of relieving 
guard, and made all necessary observations, he retired 
without being discovered. 

Ortega returned to Marchena, and assured the mar¬ 
ques of Cadiz of the practicability of scaling the castle of 
Alhama, and taking it by surprise. The marques had a 
secret conference with Don Pedro Enriquez, Adelantado 
of Andalusia; Don Diego de Merlo, commander of Se¬ 
ville ; Sancho de Avila, Alcayde of Carmona, and others, 
who all agreed to aid him with their forces. On an ap¬ 
pointed day, the several commanders assembled at Mar¬ 
chena with their troops an3 retainers. None but the 
leaders knew the object or destination of the enterprise ; 
but it was enough to rouse the Andalusian spirit, to 
know that a foray was intended into the country of their 
old enemies, the Moors. Secrecy and celerity were 
necessary for success. They set out promptly, with 
three thousand genetes, or light cavalry, and four thou¬ 
sand infantry. They chose a route but little travelled, by 
the way of Antiquera, passing with great labor through 
rugged and solitary defiles of the Sierra or chain of 
mountains of Arrecife, and left all their baggage on the 


MARCH TO ALHAMA . 


51 


banks of the river Yeguas, to be brought after them. 
This march was principally in the night; all day they 
remained quiet; no noise was suffered in their camp, and 
no fires were made, lest the smoke should betray them. 
On the third day they resumed their march as the even¬ 
ing darkened, and forcing themselves forward at as quick 
a pace as the rugged and dangerous mountain roads 
would permit, they descended towards midnight into a 
small deep valley, only half a league from Alhama. 
Here they made a halt, fatigued by this forced march, 
during a long dark evening towards the end of Feb¬ 
ruary. 

The marques of Cadiz now explained to the troops the 
object of the expedition. He told them it was fqr the 
glory of the most holy faith, and to avenge the wrongs of 
their countrymen at Zahara; and that the town of Al¬ 
hama, full of wealthy spoil, was the place to be attacked. 
The troops were roused to new ardor by these words, 
and desired to be led forthwith to the assault. They 
arrived close to Alhama about two hours before day¬ 
break. Here the army remained in ambush, while three 
hundred men were dispatched to scale the walls and get 
possession of the castle. They were picked men, many 
of them alcaydes and officers, men who preferred death 
to dishonor. This gallant band was guided by the 
escalador Ortega de Prado, at the head of thirty men 
with scaling-ladders. They clambered the ascent to the 
castle in silence, and arrived under the dark shadow of 


52 


CONQUEST OF OB AN ABA 


its towers without being discovered. Not a light was to 
be seen, not a sound to be heard; the whole place was 
wrapped in profound repose. 

Fixing their ladders, they ascended cautiously and 
with noiseless steps. Ortega was the first that mounted 
upon the battlements, followed by one Martin Galindo, a 
youthful esquire, full of spirit and eager for distinction. 
Moving stealthily along the parapet to the portal of the 
citadel, they came upon the sentinel by surprise. Or- 
tega seized him by the throat, brandished a dagger be¬ 
fore his eyes, and ordered him to point the way to the 
guard-room. The infidel obeyed, and was instantly dis¬ 
patched, to prevent his giving an alarm. The guard- 
room, was a scene rather of massacre than combat. 
Some of the soldiery were killed while sleeping, others 
were cut down almost without resistance, bewildered by 
so unexpected an assault: all were dispatched, for the 
scaling party was too small to make prisoners or to spare. 
The alarm spread throughout the castle, but by this 
time the three hundred picked men had mounted the 
battlements. The garrison, startled from sleep, found 
the enemy already masters of the towers. Some of the 
Moors were cut down at once, others fought desperately 
from room to room, and the whole castle resounded with 
the clash of arms, the cries of the combatants, and the 
groans of the wounded. The army in ambush, finding 
by the uproar that the castle was surprised, now rushed 
from their concealment, and approached the walls with 


A NIGHT ATTACK. 


53 


loud shouts, and sound of kettle-drums and trumpets, 
to increase the confusion and dismay of the garrison. A 
violent conflict took place in the court of the castle, 
where several of the scaling party sought to throw open 
the gates to admit their countrymen. Here fell two val¬ 
iant alcaydes, Nicholas de Roja and Sancho de Avila ; but 
they fell honorably, upon a heap of slain. At length 
Ortega de Prado succeeded in throwing open a postern, 
through which the marques of Cadiz, the adelantado of 
Andalusia, and Don Diego de Merlo, entered with a host 
of followers, and the citadel remained in full possession 
of the Christians. 

As the Spanish cavaliers were ranging from room to 
room, the marques of Cadiz, entering an apartment oi 
superior richness to the rest, beheld, by the light of a 
silver lamp, a beautiful Moorish female, the wife of the 
alcayde of the castle, whose husband was absent, attend¬ 
ing a wedding feast at Yelez Malaga. She would have 
fled at the sight of a Christian warrior in her apartment, 
but, entangled in the covering of the bed, she fell at the 
feet of the marques, imploring mercy. That Christian 
cavalier, who had a soul full of honor and courtesy to¬ 
wards the sex, raised her from the floor, and endeavored 
to allay her fears; but they were increased at the sight 
of her female attendants, pursued into the room by the 
Spanish soldiery. The marques reproached his soldiers 
with unmanly conduct, and reminded them that they 
made war upon men, not on defenseless women. Having 


54 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


soothed the terrors of the females by the promise of 
honorable protection, he appointed a trusty guard to 
watch over the security of their apartment. 

The castle was now taken; but the town below it was 
in arms. It was broad day, and the people, recovered 
from their panic, were enabled to see and estimate the 
force of the enemy. The inhabitants were chiefly mer¬ 
chants and tradespeople; but the Moors all possessed a 
knowledge of the use of weapons, and were of brave and 
warlike spirit. They confided in the strength of their 
walls, and the certainty of speedy relief from Granada, 
which was but about eight leagues distant. Manning 
the battlements and towers, they discharged showers of 
stones and arrows, whenever the part of the Christian 
army, without the walls, attempted to approach. They 
barricadoed the entrances of their streets, also, which 
opened towards the castle; stationing men expert at the 
cross-bow and arquebuse. These kept up a constant fire 
upon the gate of the castle, so that no one could sally 
forth without being instantly shot down. Two valiant 
cavaliers, who attempted to lead forth a party in defiance 
of this fatal tempest, were shot dead at the very portal. 

The Christians now found themselves in a situation of 
great peril. Reinforcements must soon arrive to the 
enemy from Granada; unless, therefore, they gained pos¬ 
session of the town in the course of the day, they were 
likely to be surrounded and beleaguered, without pro¬ 
visions, in the castle. Some observed that, even if they 





A FIGHT BT DAYLIGHT 


55 


took the town, they should not be able to maintain pos¬ 
session of it. They proposed, therefore, to make booty 
of everything valuable, to sack the castle, set it on fire, 
and make good their retreat to Seville. 

The marques of Cadiz was of different counsel. “ God 
has given the citadel into Christian hands,” said he, “he 
will no doubt strengthen them to maintain it. We have 
gained the place with difficulty and bloodshed ; it would 
be a stain upon our honor to abandon it through fear 
of imaginary dangers.” The adelantado and Don Diego 
de Merlo joined in his opinion; but without their earnest 
and united remonstrances, the place would have been 
abandoned; so exhausted were the troops by forced 
marches and hard fighting, and so apprehensive of the 
approach of the Moors of Granada. 

The strength and spirits of the party within the castle 
were in some degree restored by the provisions which 
they found. The Christian army beneath the town, be¬ 
ing also refreshed by a morning’s repast, advanced vig¬ 
orously to the attack of the walls. They planted their 
Scaling-ladders, and, swarming up, sword in hand, fought 
fiercely with the Moorish soldiery upon the ramparts. 

In the meantime, the marques of Cadiz, seeing that the 
gate of the castle, which opened toward the city, was 
completely commanded by the artillery of the enemy, or¬ 
dered a large breach to be made in the wall, through 
which he might lead his troops to the attack : animating 
them, in this perilous moment, by assuring them that the 


56 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


place should be given up to plunder, and its inhabitants 
made captives. 

The breach being made, the marques put himself at 
the head of his troops, and entered sword in hand. A 
simultaneous attack was made bj the Christians in every 
part—by the ramparts, by the gate, by the roofs and 
walls which connected the castle with the town. The 
Moors fought valiantly in their streets, from their win¬ 
dows, and from the tops of their houses. They were not 
equal to the Christians in bodily strength, for they were 
for the most part peaceful men, of industrious callings, 
and enervated by the frequent use of the warm bath; 
but they were superior in number, and unconquerable in 
spirit; old and young, strong and weak, fought with the 
same desperation. The Moors fought for property, for 
liberty, for life. They fought at their thresholds and 
their hearths, with the shrieks of their wives and chil¬ 
dren ringing in their ears, and they fought in the hope 
that each moment would bring aid from Granada. They 
regarded neither their own wounds nor the death of 
their companions; but continued fighting until they fell, 
and seemed as if, when they could no longer contend, 
they would block up the thresholds of their beloved 
homes with their mangled bodies. The Christians fought 
for glory, for revenge, for the holy faith, and for the 
spoil of these wealthy infidels. Success would place a 
rich town at their mercy; failure would deliver them 
into the hands of the tyrant of Granada. 



CAPTURE OF THE CITY. 


57 


The contest raged from morning until night, when the 
Moors began to yield. Retreating to a large mosque 
near the walls, they kept up so galling a fire from it with 
lances, cross-bows, and arquebuses, that for some time 
the Christians dared not approach. Covering them¬ 
selves, at length, with bucklers and mantelets,* to pro¬ 
tect them from the deadly shower, the latter made their 
way to the mosque, and set fire to the doors. When the 
smoke and flames rolled in upon them, the Moors gave 
up all as lost. Many rushed forth desperately upon the 
enemy, but were immediately slain; the rest surrendered 
themselves captives. 

The struggle was now at an end; the town remained 
at the mercy of the Christians ; and the inhabitants, 
both male and female, became the slaves of those who 
made them prisoners. Some few escaped by a mine or 
subterranean way, which led to the river, and concealed 
themselves, their wives and children, in caves and secret 
places; but in three or four days were compelled to sur¬ 
render themselves through hunger. 

The town was given up to plunder, and the booty was 
immense. There were found prodigious quantities of 
gold and silver, and jewels, and rich silks, and costly 
stuffs of all kinds; together with horses and beeves, and 
abundance of grain and oil, and honey, and all other pro¬ 
ductions of this fruitful kingdom; for in Alhama were 

* Mantelet—a movable parapet, made of thick planks, to protect troops 
when advancing to sap or assault a walled place. 


58 


CONQUEST OF OR AN AD A. 


collected the royal rents and tributes of the surrounding 
country; it was the richest town in the Moorish territory, 
and, from its great strength and its peculiar situation, 
was called the key to Granada. 

Great waste and devastation were committed by the 
Spanish soldiery; for, thinking it would be impossible 
to keep possession of the place, they began to destroy 
whatever they could not take away. Immense jars of 
oil were broken, costly furniture shattered to pieces, and 
magazines of grain broken open, and their contents scat¬ 
tered to the winds. Many Christian captives, who had 
been taken at Zahara, were found buried in a Moorish 
dungeon, and were triumphantly restored to light and 
liberty; and a renegado Spaniard, who had often served 
as guide to the Moors in their incursions into the Chris¬ 
tian territories, was hanged on the highest part of the 
battlements, for the edification of the army, 


CHAPTER VI. 


HOW THE PEOPLE OP GRANADA WERE AFFECTED ON HEARING OF THE CAP* 
TURE OF ALHAMA ; AND HOW THE MOORISH KING SALLIED FORTH TO RE- 
GAIN IT. 


MOORISH horseman had spurred across the 
vega, nor reined his panting steed until he 
alighted at the gate of the Alhambra. He 
brought tidings to Muley Abul Hassan of the attack 
upon Alhama. “The Christians,” said he, “are in the 
land. They came upon us, we know not whence or how, 
and scaled the walls of the castle in the night. There 
has been dreadful fighting and carnage in its towers and 
courts; and when I spurred my steed from the gate of 
Alhama, the castle was in possession of the unbelievers.” 

Muley Abul Hassan felt for a moment as if swift retri¬ 
bution had come upon him for the woes he had inflicted 
upon Zahara. Still he flattered himself that this had 
only been some transient inroad of a party of marauders, 
intent upon plunder; and that a little succor, thrown 
into the town, would be sufficient to expel them from the 
castle, and drive them from the land. He ordered out, 

therefore, a thousand of his chosen cavalry, and sent 

59 




60 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


them in all speed to the assistance of Alhama. They 
arrived before its walls the morning after its capture; 
the Christian standards floated upon its towers, and a 
body of cavalry poured forth from its gates and came 
wheeling down into the plain to receive them. 

The Moorish horsemen turned the reins of their 
steeds, and galloped back for Granada. They entered 
its gates in tumultuous confusion, spreading terror and 
lamentation by their tidings. “Alhama is fallen! Al¬ 
hama is fallen!” exclaimed they; “the Christians garri¬ 
son its walls; the key of Granada is in the hands of the 
enemy! ” 

When the people heard these words, they remembered 
the denunciation of the santon. His prediction seemed 
still to resound in every ear, and its fulfillment to be at 
hand. Nothing was heard throughout the city but sighs 
and wailings. “Woe is me, Alhama!” was in every 
mouth; and this ejaculation of deep sorrow and doleful 
foreboding, came to be the burthen of a plaintive ballad, 
which remains until the present day.* 

Many aged men, who had taken refuge in Granada from 
other Moorish dominions which had fallen into the power 
of the Christians, now groaned in despair at the thoughts 
that war was to follow them into this last retreat, to lay 
waste this pleasant land, and to bring trouble and sorrow 

* The mournful little Spanish romance of Ay de mi Alha/ma ! is sup¬ 
posed to be of Moorish origin, and to embody the grief of the people of 
Granada on this occasion. 


A RAPID MOVEMENT. 


61 


upon their declining years. The women were more loud 
and vehement in their grief; for they beheld the evils 
impending over their children, and what can restrain the 
agony of a mother’s heart? Many of them made their 
way through the halls of the Alhambra into the presence 
of the king, weeping, and wailing, and tearing their hair. 
“Accursed be the day,” cried they, “that thou hast lit 
the flame of war in our land! May the holy Prophet 
bear witness before Allah that we and our children are 
innocent of this act! Upon thy head, and upon the 
heads of thy posterity, until the end of the world, rest 
the sin of the desolation of Zahara! ” * 

Muley Abul Hassan remained unmoved amidst all 
this storm; his heart was hardened (observes Fray 
Antonio Agapida) like that of Pharaoh, to the end that, 
through his blind violence and rage, he might produce 
the deliverance of the land from its heathen bondage. 
In fact, he was a bold and fearless warrior, and trusted 
soon to make this blow recoil upon the head of the ene¬ 
my. He had ascertained that the captors of Alhama 
were but a handful: they were in the centre of his do¬ 
minions, within a short distance of his capital. They 
were deficient in munitions of war and provisions for 
sustaining a siege. By a rapid movement he might sur¬ 
round them with a powerful army, cut off all aid from 
their countrymen, and entrap them in the fortress they 
had taken. 


Garibay, lib. 40, c. 29. 


62 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


To tliink was to act, with Muley Abul Hassan; but he 
was prone to act with too much precipitation. He imme¬ 
diately set forth in person, with three thousand horse 
and fifty thousand foot, and, in his eagerness to arrive at 
the scene of action, would not wait to provide artillery 
and the various engines required in a siege. “ The mul¬ 
titude of my forces,” said he, confidently, “ will be suffi¬ 
cient to overwhelm the enemy.” 

The marques of Cadiz, who thus held possession of 
Alhama, had a chosen friend and faithful companion in 
arms, among the most distinguished of the Christian 
chivalry. This was Don Alonzo de Cordova, senior and 
lord of the house of Aguilar, and brother of Gonsalvo 
of Cordova, afterwards renowned as Grand Captain of 
Spain. As yet, Alonzo de Aguilar was the glory of his 
name and race—for his brother was but young in arms. 
He was one of the most hardy, valiant, and enterprising 
of the Spanish knights, and foremost in all service of a 
perilous and adventurous nature. He had not been at 
hand, to accompany his friend, Ponce de Leon, marques 
of Cadiz, in his inroad into the Moorish territory; but 
he hastily assembled a number of retainers, horse and 
foot, and pressed forward to join the enterprise. Arriv¬ 
ing at the river Yeguas, he found the baggage of the 
army still upon its banks, and took charge of it to carry 
it to Alhama. The marques of Cadiz heard of the ap¬ 
proach of his friend, whose march was slow in conse¬ 
quence of being encumbered by the baggage. He was 


MARCH OF AGUILAR. 


63 


within but a few leagues of Alhama, when scouts came 
hurrying into the place, with intelligence that the Moor¬ 
ish king was at hand with a powerful army. The mar¬ 
ques of Cadiz was filled with alarm lest De Aguilar 
should fall into the hands of the enemy. Forgetting his 
own danger, and thinking only of that of his friend, he 
dispatched a well-mounted messenger to ride full speed, 
and warn him not to approach. 

The first determination of Alonzo de Aguilar, when he 
heard that the Moorish king was at hand, was to take a 
strong position in the mountains, and await his coming. 
The madness of an attempt with his handful of men to 
oppose an immense army, was represented to him with 
such force as to induce him to abandon the idea; he then 
thought of throwing himself into Alhama, to share the 
fortunes of his friend: but it was now too late. The 
Moor would infallibly intercept him, and he should only 
give the marques the additional distress of beholding 
him captured beneath his walls. It was even urged 
upon him that he had no time for delay, if he would con¬ 
sult his own safety, which could only be insured by an 
immediate retreat into the Christian territory. This 
last opinion was confirmed by the return of scouts, who 
brought information that Muley Abul Hassan had re¬ 
ceived notice of his movements, and was rapidly advanc¬ 
ing in quest of him. It was with infinite reluctance that 
Don Alonzo de Aguilar yielded to these united and 
powerful reasons. Proudly and sullenly he drew off his 


G4 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


forces, laden with the baggage of the army, and made an 
unwilling retreat towards Antiquera. Muley Abul Has- 
san pursued him for some distance through the moun¬ 
tains, but soon gave up the chase, and turned with his 
forces upon Alhama. 

As the army approached the town, they beheld the 
fields strewn with the dead bodies of their countrymen, 
who had fallen in defense of the place, and had been cast 
forth and left unburied by the Christians. There they 
lay, mangled and exposed to every indignity; while 
droves of half-famished dogs were preying upon them, 
and fighting and howling over their hideous repast.* 
Furious at the sight, the Moors, in the first transports of 
their rage, attacked those ravenous animals: their next 
measure was to vent their fury upon the Christians. 
They rushed like madmen to the walls, applied scaling- 
ladders in all parts, without waiting for the necessary 
mantelets and other protections,—thinking, by attacking 
suddenly and at various points, to distract the enemy, 
and overcome them by the force of numbers. 

The marques of Cadiz, with his confederate command¬ 
ers, distributed themselves along the walls, to direct and 
animate their men in the defense. The Moors, in their 
blind fury, often assailed the most difficult and danger¬ 
ous places. Darts, stones, and all kinds of missiles, were 
hurled down upon their defenseless heads. As fast as 


Pulgar, Cronica. 


SIEGE OF ALEAMA. 


65 


they mounted, they were cut down, or dashed from the 
battlements, their ladders overturned, and all who were 
on them precipitated headlong below. 

Muley Abul Hassan stormed with passion at the sight; 
he sent detachment after detachment to scale the walls— 
but in vain; they were like waves rushing upon a rock, 
only to dash themselves to pieces. The Moors lay in 
heaps beneath the wall, and among them many of the 
bravest cavaliers of Granada. The Christians, also, sal¬ 
lied frequently from the gates, and made great havoc in 
the irregular multitude of assailants. 

Muley Abul Hassan now became sensible of his error 
in hurrying from Granada without the proper engines for 
a siege. Destitute of all means to batter the fortifica¬ 
tions, the town remained uninjured, defying the mighty 
army which raged and roamed before it. Incensed at be¬ 
ing thus foiled, Muley Abul Hassan gave orders to under¬ 
mine the walls. The Moors advanced with shouts to the 
attempt. They were received with a deadly fire from 
the ramparts, which drove them from their works. Re¬ 
peatedly were they repulsed, and repeatedly did they 
return to the charge. The Christians not merely galled 
them from the battlements, but issued forth and cut 
them down in the excavations they were attempting to 
form. The contest lasted throughout a whole day, and 
by evening two thousand Moors were either killed or 
wounded. 

Muley Abul Hassan now abandoned all hope of carry- 


66 


CONQUEST OF OR AN AD A. 


ing tlie place by assault, and attempted to distress it into 
terms by turning the channel of the river which runs by 
its walls. On this stream the inhabitants depended for 
their supply of water; the place being destitute of foun¬ 
tains and cisterns, from which circumstances it is called 
Alhama la seca , or “ the dry.” 

A desperate conflict ensued on the banks of the river, 
the Moors endeavoring to plant palisades in its bed to 
divert the stream, and the Christians striving to prevent 
them. The Spanish commanders exposed themselves to 
the utmost danger to animate their men, who were re¬ 
peatedly driven back into the town. The marques of 
Cadiz was often up to his knees in the stream, fighting 
hand to hand with the Moors. The water ran red with 
blood, and was encumbered with dead bodies. At length, 
the overwhelming numbers of the Moors gave them the 
advantage, and they succeeded in diverting the greater 
part of the water. The Christians had to struggle se¬ 
verely, to supply themselves from the feeble rill which 
remained. They sallied to the river by a subterraneous 
passage ; but the Moorish cross-bowmen stationed them¬ 
selves on the opposite bank, keeping up a heavy fire 
upon the Christians, whenever they attempted to fill 
their vessels from the scanty and turbid stream. One 
party of the Christians had, therefore, to fight, while 
another drew water. At all hours of the day and night, 
this deadly strife was maintained, until it seemed as if 
every drop of water were purchased with a drop of blood. 


SIEGE OF ALHAMA. 


67 


In the meantime the sufferings of the town became 
intense. None but the soldiery and their horses were 
allowed the precious beverage so dearly earned, and even 
that in quantities that only tantalized their wants. The 
wounded, who could not sally to procure it, were almost 
destitute ; while the unhappy prisoners, shut up in the 
mosques, were reduced to frightful extremities. Many 
perished raving mad, fancying themselves swimming in 
boundless seas, yet unable to assuage their thirst. Many 
of the soldiers lay parched and panting along the battle¬ 
ments, no longer able to draw a bowstring or hurl a 
stone ; while above five thousand Moors, stationed upon 
a rocky height which overlooked part of the town, kept 
up a galling fire into it with slings and cross-bows; so 
that the marques of Cadiz was obliged to heighten the 
battlements, by using the doors from the private dwell¬ 
ings. 

The Christian cavaliers, exposed to this extreme peril, 
and in imminent danger of falling into the hands of the 
enemy, dispatched fleet messengers to Seville and Cor¬ 
dova, entreating the chivalry of Andalusia to hasten to 
their aid. They sent likewise, imploring assistance from 
the king and queen, who at that time held their court in 
Medina del Campo. In the midst of their distress, a 
tank or cistern of water was fortunately discovered in 
the city, which gave temporary relief to their sufferings. 


CHAPTER YH. 


HOW THE DUKE OP MEDINA SIDONIA, AND THE CHIVALRY OP ANDALUSIA, 
HASTENED TO THE RELIEF OF ALHAMA. 


HE perilous situation of the Christian cavaliers 
pent up and beleaguered within the walls of 
Alhama, spread terror among their friends, and 
anxiety throughout all Andalusia. Nothing, however, 
could equal the anguish of the marchioness of Cadiz, 
the wife of the gallant Roderigo Ponce de Leon. In 
her deep distress, she looked round for some powerful 
noble, who had the means of rousing the country to the 
assistance of her husband. No one appeared more com¬ 
petent for the purpose than Don Juan de Guzman, the 
duke of Medina Sidonia. He was one of the most wealthy 
and puissant grandees of Spain; his possessions ex¬ 
tended over some of the most fertile parts of Andalusia, 
embracing towns, and sea-ports, and numerous villages. 
Here he reigned in feudal state, like a petty sovereign, 
and could at any time bring into the field an immense 
force of vassals and retainers. 

The duke of Medina Sidonia and the marques of Cadiz, 
however, were at this time deadly foes. An hereditary 











SIEGE OF ALHAMA. 


69 


feud existed between them, which had often arisen to 
bloodshed and open war; for as yet the fierce contests 
between the proud and puissant Spanish nobles had not 
been completely quelled by the power of the crown, and 
in this respect they exerted a right of sovereignty, in 
leading their vassals against each other in open field. 

The duke of Medina Sidonia would have appeared, to 
many, the very last person to whom to apply for aid of 
the marques of Cadiz; but the marchioness judged of 
him by the standard of her own high and generous mind. 
She knew him to be a gallant and courteous knight, and 
had already experienced the magnanimity of his spirit, 
having been relieved by him when besieged by the 
Moors in her husband’s fortress of Arcos. To the duke, 
therefore, she applied in this moment of sudden calam¬ 
ity, imploring him to furnish succor to her husband. 
The event showed how well noble spirits understand 
each other. No sooner did the duke receive this appeal 
from the wife of his enemy, than he generously forgot all 
feeling of animosity, and determined to go in person to 
his succor. He immediately dispatched a courteous let¬ 
ter to the marchioness, assuring her that in consideration 
of the request of so honorable and estimable a lady, and 
to rescue from peril so valiant a cavalier as her husband, 
whose loss would be great, not only to Spain, but to all 
Christendom, he would forego the recollection of all past 
grievances, and hasten to his relief with all the forces he 
could raise. 


70 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


The duke wrote at the same time to the alcaydes of his 
towns and fortresses, ordering them to join him forth¬ 
with at Seville, with all the forces they could spare from 
their garrisons. He called on all the chivalry of Anda¬ 
lusia to make a common cause in the rescue of those 
Christian cavaliers, and he offered large pay to all volum 
teers who would resort to him with horses, armor, and 
provisions. Thus all who could be incited by honor, 
religion, patriotism, or thirst of gain, were induced to 
hasten to his standard, and he took the field with an 
army of five thousand horse and fifty thousand foot.* 
Many cavaliers of distinguished name accompanied him 
in this generous enterprise. Among these was the re¬ 
doubtable Alonzo de Aguilar, the chosen friend of the 
marques of Cadiz, and with him his younger brother, 
Gonsalvo Fernandez de Cordova, afterwards renowned as 
the Grand Captain; Don Roderigo Giron, also, Master of 
the order of Calatrava, together with Martin Alonzo de 
Montemayor, and the marques De Villena, esteemed the 
best lance in Spain. It was a gallant and splendid army, 
comprising the flower of Spanish chivalry, and poured 
forth in brilliant array from the gates of Seville, bearing 
the great standard of that ancient and renowned city. 

Ferdinand and Isabella were at Medina del Campo, 
when tidings came of the capture of Alhama. The king 
was at mass when he received the news, and ordered 

* Cronica de Los Duques de Medina Sidonia por Pedro de Medina, 
MS. 


SIEGE OF ALHAMA 


71 


Te Deum to be chanted for this signal triumph of the 
holy faith. When the first flush of triumph had sub¬ 
sided, and the king learnt the imminent peril of the val¬ 
orous Ponce de Leon and his companions, and the great 
danger that this stronghold might again be wrested from 
their grasp, he resolved to hurry in person to the scene 
of action. So pressing appeared to him the emergency, 
that he barely gave himself time to take a hasty repast 
while horses were providing, and then departed at furi¬ 
ous speed for Andalusia, leaving a request for the queen 
to follow him.* He was attended by Don Beltram de la 
Cueva, duke of Albuquerque, Don Inigo Lopez de Men¬ 
doza, count of Tendilla, and Don Pedro Mauriques, count 
of Trevino, with a few more cavaliers of prowess and 
distinction. He travelled by forced journeys, frequently 
changing his jaded horses, being eager to arrive in time 
to take command of the Andalusian chivalry. When he 
arrived wdthin five leagues of Cordova, the duke of Albu¬ 
querque remonstrated with him upon entering, with such 
incautious haste, into the enemy’s country. He repre¬ 
sented to him that there were troops enough assembled 
to succor Alhama, and that it was not for him to venture 
his royal person in doing what could be done by his sub¬ 
jects, especially as he had such valiant and experienced 
captains to act for him. “Besides, sire,” added the 
duke, “ your majesty should bethink you that the troops 


* Illescas, Hist. Pontifical. 


72 


CONQUEST OF OBAN ABA. 


about to take the field are mere men of Andalusia, where¬ 
as your illustrious predecessors never made an inroad 
into the territory of the Moors, without being accom¬ 
panied by a powerful force of the stanch and iron war¬ 
riors of old Castile.” 

“ Duke,” replied the king, “ your counsel might have 
been good, had I not departed from Medina with the 
avowed determination of succoring these cavaliers in 
person. I am now near the end of my journey, and it 
would be beneath my dignity to change my intention, 
before even I had met with an impediment. I shall take 
the troops of this country who are assembled, without 
waiting for those of Castile, and with the aid of God, 
shall prosecute my journey.” * 

As King Ferdinand approached Cordova, the principal 
inhabitants came forth to receive him. Learning, how¬ 
ever, that the duke of Medina Sidonia was already on 
tne march, and pressing forward into the territory of the 
Moors, the king was all on fire to overtake him, and to 
lead in person the succor to Alhama. Without entering 
Cordova, therefore, he exchanged his weary horses for 
those of the inhabitants who had come forth to meet 
him, and pressed forward for the army. He dispatched 
fleet couriers in advance, requesting the duke of Medina 
Sidonia to await his coming, that he might take com 
mand of the forces. 


* Pulgar, Cronica, p. 3, cap. 3. 


SIEGE OF ALHAMA. 


73 


Neither the duke nor his companions in arms, how¬ 
ever, felt inclined to pause in their generous expedition, 
and gratify the inclinations of the king. They sent back 
missives, representing that they were far within the 
enemies’ frontier, and it was dangerous either to pause 
or turn back. They had likewise received pressing en¬ 
treaties from the besieged to hasten their speed, setting 
forth their great sufferings, and their hourly peril of be¬ 
ing overwhelmed bjr the enemy. 

The king was at Ponton del Maestre, when he received 
these missives. So inflamed was he with zeal for the su^ 
cess of this enterprise, that he would have penetrated 
into the kingdom of Granada with the handful of cava¬ 
liers who accompanied him, but they represented the 
rashness of such a journey, through the mountainous 
defiles of a hostile country, thickly beset with towns and 
castles. With some difficulty, therefore, he was dissuaded 
from his inclination, and prevailed upon to await tidings 
from the army, in the frontier city of Antiquera. 


CHAPTER YIIL 


SEQUEL OF THE EVENTS AT ALHAMA. 

all Andalusia was thus in arms and pour- 
j chivalry through the mountain passes of 
[oorish frontiers, the garrison of Alhama 
was reduced to great extremity, and in danger of sinking 
under its sufferings before the promised succor could 
arrive. The intolerable thirst that prevailed in conse¬ 
quence of the scarcity of water, the incessant watch that 
had to be maintained over the vast force of enemies 
without, and the great number of prisoners within, and 
the wounds which almost every soldier had received in 
the incessant skirmishes and assaults, had worn griev¬ 
ously both flesh and spirit. The noble Ponce de Leon, 
marques of Cadiz, still animated the soldiery, however, 
by word and example, sharing every hardship, and being 
foremost in every danger; exemplifying that a good com¬ 
mander is the vital spirit of an army. 

When Muley Abul Hassan heard of the vast force that 
was approaching under the command of the duke of 
Medina Sidonia, and that Ferdinand was coming in per¬ 
son with additional troops, he perceived that no time 

74 







SEQUEL OF EVENTS AT ALHAMA, 


75 


was to be lost: Albania must be carried by one powerful 
attack, or abandoned entirely to the Christians. 

A number of Moorish cavaliers, some of the bravest 
youth of Granada, knowing the wishes of the king, pro¬ 
posed to undertake a desperate enterprise, which, if 
successful, must put Alhama in his power. Early one 
morning, when it was scarcely the gray of the dawn, 
about the time of changing the watch, these cavaliers 
approached the town, at a place considered inaccessible, 
from the steepness of the rocks on which the wall was 
founded; which it was supposed, elevated the battle¬ 
ments beyond the reach of the longest scaling-ladder. 
The Moorish knights, aided by a number of the strongest 
and most active escaladors, mounted these rocks, and 
applied the ladders, without being discovered; for, to 
divert attention from them, Muley Abul Hassan made a 
false attack upon the town in another quarter. 

The scaling party mounted with difficulty, and in small 
numbers; the sentinel was killed at his post, and seventy 
of the Moors made their way into the streets before an 
alarm was given. The guards rushed to the walls, to 
stop the hostile throng that was still pouring in. A 
sharp conflict, hand to hand and man to man, took place 
on the battlements, and many on both sides fell. The 
Moors, whether wounded or slain, were thrown headlong 
without the walls; the scaling-ladders were overturned, 
and those who were mounting were dashed upon the 
rocks, and from thence tumbled upon the plain. Thus, 


OOiS QUEST OF GRANADA. 


76 

in a little while, the ramparts were cleared by Christian 
prowess, led on by that valiant knight Don Alonzo 
Ponce, the nncle, and that brave esquire Pedro Pineda, 
nephew of the marques of Cadiz. 

The walls being cleared, these two kindred cavaliers 
now hastened with their forces in pursuit of the seventy 
Moors, who had gained an entrance into the town. The 
main party of the garrison being engaged at a distance 
resisting the feigned attack of the Moorish king, this 
fierce band of infidels had ranged the streets almost 
without opposition, and were making their way to the 
gates to throw them open to the army.* They were 
chosen men from among the Moorish forces, several of 
them gallant knights, of the proudest families of Gra¬ 
nada. Their footsteps through the city were in a man¬ 
ner printed in blood, and they were tracked by the 
bodies of those they had killed and wounded. They had 
attained the gate; most of the guard had fallen beneath 
their scimetars; a moment more, and Alhama would 
have been thrown open to the enemy. 

Just at this juncture, Don Alonzo Ponce and Pedro de 
Pineda reached the spot with their forces. The Moors 
had the enemy in front and rear ; they placed themselves 
back to back, with their banner in the centre. In this 
way they fought with desperate and deadly determina¬ 
tion, making a rampart around them with the slain. 


* Zurita, lib. 20, c. 43. 


SEQUEL OF EVENTS AT ALEAMA. 


77 


More Christian troops arrived, and hemmed them in; 
bnt still they fought, without asking for quarter. As 
their numbers decreased, they serried their circle still 
closer; defending their banner from. assault; and the 
last Moor died at his post, grasping the standard of the 
prophet. This standard was displayed from the walls, 
and the turbaned heads of the Moors were thrown down 
to the besiegers.* 

Muley Abul Hassan tore his beard with rage at the 
failure of this attempt, and at the death of so many of 
his chosen cavaliers. He saw that all further effort was 
in vain; his scouts brought word that they had seen 
from the heights the long columns and flaunting banners 
of the Christian army approaching through the moun¬ 
tains. To linger, would be to place himself between two 
bodies of the enemy. Breaking up his camp, therefore, 
in all haste, he gave up the siege of Alhama, and has¬ 
tened back to Granada; and the last clash of his cymbals 
scarce died upon the ear from the distant hills, before 
the standard of the duke of Medina Sidonia was seen 
emerging in another direction from the defiles of the 
mountains. 

When the Christians in Alhama beheld their enemies 
retreating on one side, and their friends advancing on 
the other, they uttered shouts of joy and hymns of 

* Pedro de Pineda received the honor of knighthood from the hand of 
king Ferdinand, for his valor on this occasion (Alonzo Ponce was already 
knight).—See Znfliga, Annals of Seville, lib. 12, an 1482. 


78 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA . 


thanksgiving, for it was as a sudden relief from present 
death. Harassed by several weeks of incessant vigil 
and fighting, suffering from scarcity of provisions and 
almost continual thirst, they resembled skeletons rather 
than living men. It was a noble and gracious specta¬ 
cle—the meeting of those hitherto inveterate foes, the 
duke of Medina Sidonia and the marques of Cadiz. At 
sight of his magnanimous deliverer the marques melted 
into tears: all past animosities only gave the greater 
poignancy to present feelings of gratitude and admi¬ 
ration. The late deadly rivals clasped each other in their 
arms, and from that time forward were true and cordial 
friends. 

While this generous scene took place between the 
commanders, a sordid contest arose among their troops. 
The soldiers who had come to the rescue claimed a por¬ 
tion of the spoils of Alhama ; and so violent was the dis¬ 
pute, that both parties seized their arms. The duke of 
Medina Sidonia interfered, and settled the question with 
his characteristic magnanimity. He declared that the 
spoil belonged to those who had captured the city. 
“We have taken the field,” said he, “ only for honor, for 
religion, and for the rescue of our countrymen and fellow 
Christians; and the success of our enterprise is a suffi¬ 
cient and a glorious reward. If we desire booty, there 
are sufficient Moorish cities yet to be taken, to enrich 
us all.” The soldiers were convinced by the frank and 
chivalrous reasoning of the duke ; they replied to his 


SPANISH CHIVALRY. 


79 


speech by acclamations, and the transient broil was hap* 
pily appeased. 

The marchioness of Cadiz, with the forethought of a 
loving wife, had dispatched her major-domo with the 
army, with a large supply of provisions. Tables were 
immediately spread beneath the tents, where the mar¬ 
ques gave a banquet to the duke and the cavaliers who 
had accompanied him, and nothing but hilarity prevailed 
in this late scene of suffering and death. 

A garrison of fresh troops was left at Alhama, and the 
veterans who had so valiantly captured and maintained 
it, returned to their homes, burdened with precious 
booty. The marques and duke, and their confederate 
cavaliers, repaired to Antiquera, where they were re¬ 
ceived with great distinction by the king, who honored 
the marques of Cadiz with signal marks of favor. The 
duke then accompanied his late enemy, but now most 
zealous and grateful friend, the marques of Cadiz, to his 
town of Marchena, where he received the reward of his 
generous conduct, in the thanks and blessings of the mar¬ 
chioness. The marques celebrated a sumptuous feast, 
in honor of his guest; for a day and night his palace 
was thrown open, and was the scene of continual revel 
and festivity. When the duke departed for his estates at 
St. Lucar, the marques attended him for some distance 
on his journey; and when they separated, it was as the 
parting scene of brothers. Such was the noble spectacle 
exhibited to the chivalry of Spain, by these two illustri- 


80 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


ous rivals. • Each reaped universal renown from the part 
he had performed in the campaign; the marques, from 
having surprised and captured one of the most important 
and formidable fortresses of the kingdom of Granada; 
and the duke, from having subdued his deadliest foe, by 
a great act of magnanimity. 


CHAPTER IX. 


EVENTS AT GRANADA, AND RISE OF THE MOORISH KING BOABDIL EL CHICO 

HE Moorish king, Abul Hassan, returned, baf¬ 
fled and disappointed, from before the walls of 
Alhama, and was received with groans and 
smothered execrations by the people of Granada. The 
prediction of the santon was in every mouth, and appear¬ 
ed to be rapidly fulfilling; for the enemy was already 
strongly fortified in Alhama, in the very heart of the 
kingdom. At the same time the nobles who had secretly 
conspired to depose the old king and elevate his son 
Boabdil to the throne, had matured their plans, in con¬ 
cert with the prince, who had been joined in Guadix by 
hosts of adherents. An opportunity soon presented to 
carry their plans into operation. 

Muley Abul Hassan had a royal country palace, with 
gardens and fountains, called the Alixares, situated on 
the Cerro del Sol, or Mountain of the Sun; a height, the 
ascent to which leads up from the Alhambra, but which 
towers far above that fortress, and looks down as from 
the clouds upon it, and upon the subjacent city of Gra¬ 
nada. It was a favorite retreat of the Moorish kings, to 
6 81 




82 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


inhale the pure mountain breezes, and leave far below 
the din ana turmoil of the city. Muley Abul Hassan had 
passed a day among its bowers, in company with his 
favorite wife, Zoraya, when towards evening he heard a 
strange sound rising from the city, like the gathering of a 
storm, or the sullen roar of the ocean. Apprehensive of 
e vil, he ordered the oncers of his guard to descend with 
all speed to the city, and reconnoitre. The intelligence 
brought back was astounding. A civil war was raging in 
the city. Boabdil had been brought from Guadix by the 
conspirators, the foremost of whom were the gallant race 
of the Abencerrages. He had entered the Albaycin in 
triumph, and been hailed with rapture, and proclaimed 
king in that populous quarter of the city. Abul Cacim 
Yanegas, the vizier, at the head of the royal guards, had 
attacked the rebels ; and the noise which had alarmed the 
king, was the din of fighting in the streets and squares. 

Muley Abul Hassan hastened to descend to the Alham¬ 
bra, confident that, ensconced in that formidable fortress, 
he could soon put an end to the rash commotion. To his 
surprise and dismay he found the battlements lined with 
hostile troops; Aben Comixa, the alcayde, had declared 
in favor of Boabdil, and elevated his standard on the 
towers; thus, cut off from his stronghold, the old mon¬ 
arch was fain to return to the Alixares. 

The conflict lasted throughout the night with carnage 
on both sides. In the morning Abul Cacim, driven out 
of the city, appeared before the old king with his broken 


CIVIL WAR m THE CITY. 


83 


squadrons, and told him there was no safety but in flight. 
“Allah Achbar, (God is great!)” exclaimed old Muley, 
“ it is in vain to contend against what is written in the 
book of fate. It was predestined that my son should sit 
upon the throne—Allah forfend the rest of the predic¬ 
tion.” So saying he made a hasty retreat, escorted by 
Abul Cacim Yanegas and his troops, who conducted him 
to the castle of Mondujar, in the Yalley of Locrin. Here 
he was joined by many powerful cavaliers, relatives of 
Abul Cacim and partisans of Zoraya ; among whom were 
Cid Hiaya, Aben Jamy, and Beduan Yanegas, men who 
had alcaydes, vassals at their command, and possessed 
great influence in Almeria and Baza. He was joined, 
also, by his brother Abdallah, commonly called El Zagal, 
or the Yaliant; who was popular in many parts of the 
kingdom. All these offered to aid him with their swords 
in suppressing the rebellion. 

Thus reinforced, Muley Abul Hassan determined on a 
sudden blow for the recovery of his throne and the pun¬ 
ishment of the rebels. He took his measures with that 
combination of dexterity and daring which formed his 
character, and arrived one night under the walls of Gra¬ 
nada, with five hundred chosen followers. Scaling the 
walls of the Alhambra, he threw himself with sanguinary 
fury into its silent courts. The sleeping inmates were 
roused from their repose only to fall by the extermi¬ 
nating scimetar. The rage of Abul Hassan spared nei¬ 
ther age, nor rank, nor sex; the halls resounded with 


84 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


shrieks and yells, and the fountains ran red with blood. 
The alcayde, Aben Comixa, retreated to a strong tower, 
with a few of the garrison and inhabitants. The furious 
Abul Hassan did not lose time in pursuing him; he 
was anxious to secure the city, and to wreak his venge¬ 
ance on its rebellious inhabitants. Descending with his 
bloody band into the streets, he cut down the defenseless 
inhabitants, as, startled from their sleep, they rushed 
forth to learn the cause of the alarm. The city was soon 
completely roused; the people flew to arms; lights blazed 
in every street, revealing the scanty number of this band, 
that had been dealing such fatal vengeance in the dark. 
Muley Abul Hassan had been mistaken in his conjec¬ 
tures; the great mass of the people, incensed by his 
tyranny, were zealous in favor of his son. A violent, but 
transient conflict took place in the streets and squares: 
many of the followers of Abul Hassan were slain: the 
rest driven out of the city ; and the old monarch, with the 
remnant of his band, retreated to his loyal city of Malaga. 

Such was the commencement of those great internal 
feuds and divisions, which hastened the downfall of Gra¬ 
nada. The Moors became separated into two hostile fac¬ 
tions, headed by the father and the son, the latter of 
whom was called by the Spaniards El Rey Chico , or the 
young king; but though bloody encounters took place 
between them, they never failed to act with all their 
separate force against the Christians as a common ene¬ 
my, whenever an opportunity occurred. 


CHAPTER X. 


ROYAL EXPEDITION AGAINST LOXA. 



ING FERDINAND held a council of war a.t 
Cordova, where it was deliberated what was to 


be done with Alhama. Most of the council ad¬ 
vised that it should be demolished, inasmuch as being in 


the centre of the Moorish kingdom, it would be at all 


times liable to attack, and could only be maintained by 
a powerful garrison and at a vast expense. Queen Isa¬ 


bella arrived at Cordova in the midst of these delibera¬ 


tions, and listened to them with surprise and impatience. 
“ What! ” said she, “ destroy the first fruits of our vic¬ 
tories ? Abandon the first place we have wrested from 


the Moors? Never let us suffer such an idea to occupy 


our minds. It would argue fear or feebleness, and give 
new courage to the enemy. You talk of the toil and ex¬ 
pense of maintaining Alhama. Did we doubt, on under¬ 
taking this war, that it was to be one of infinite cost, la¬ 
bor, and bloodshed? And shall we shrink from the cost, 
the moment a victory is obtained, and the question is 
merely to guard or abandon its glorious trophy? Let 
us hear no more about the destruction of Alhama; let us 


85 











86 


CONQUEST OF OBAN AD A. 


maintain its walls sacred, as a stronghold granted ns by 
Heaven, in the centre of this hostile land; and let our 
only consideration be how to extend our conquest, and 
capture the surrounding cities.” 

The language of the queen infused a more lofty and 
chivalrous spirit into the royal council. Preparations 
were made to maintain Alhama at all risk and expense; 
and King Ferdinand appointed, as alcayde, Luis Fernan¬ 
dez Puerto Carrero, Senior of the house of Palma, sup¬ 
ported by Diego Lopez de Ayala, Pero Kuiz de Alarcon, 
and Alonzo Ortis, captains of four hundred lances, and a 
body of one thousand foot, supplied with provisions for 
three months. 

Ferdinand resolved also to lay siege to Loxa, or Loja, 
a city of great strength, at no great distance from Al¬ 
hama, and all-important to its protection. It was, in 
fact, a military point, situated in a pass of the mountains, 
between the kingdoms of Granada and Castile, and com¬ 
manded a main entrance to the vega. The Xenil flowed 
by its walls, and it had a strong castle or citadel, built 
on a rock. In preparing for the siege of this formidable 
place, Ferdinand called upon all the cities and towns of 
Andalusia and Estramadura, and the domains of the 
orders of Santiago, Calatrava, and Alcantara, and of the 
priory of St. Juan and the kingdom of Toledo, and be¬ 
yond to the cities of Salamanca, Toro, and Valladolid, to 
furnish, according to their repartimientos or allotments, 
a certain quantity of bread, wine, and cattle, to be deliv- 


WARLIKE PREPARATIONS. 


87 


ered at the royal camp before Loxa, one half at the end 
of June, and one half in July. These lands, also, to¬ 
gether with Biscay and Guipiscoa, were ordered to send 
reinforcements of horse and foot, each town furnishing 
its quota; and great diligence was used in providing 
bombards, powder, and other warlike munitions. 

The Moors were no less active in their preparations, 
and sent missives into Africa, entreating supplies, and 
calling upon the Barbary princes to aid them in this war 
of the faith. To intercept all succor, the Castilian sove¬ 
reigns stationed an armada of ships and galleys in the 
Straits of Gibraltar, under the command of Martin Diaz 
de Mina and Carlos de Valera, with orders to scour the 
Barbary coast, and sweep every Moorish sail from the sea. 

While these preparations were making, Ferdinand 
made an incursion, at the head of his army, into the 
kingdom of Granada, and laid waste the vega, destroying 
its hamlets and villages, ravaging its fields of grain, and 
driving away the cattle. 

It was about the end of June that King Ferdinand de¬ 
parted from Cordova, to sit down before the walls of 
Loxa. So confident was he of success, that he left a great 
part of the army at Ecija, and advanced with but five 
thousand cavalry and eight thousand infantry. The mar¬ 
ques of Cadiz, a warrior as wise as he was valiant, re¬ 
monstrated against employing so small a force, and, in¬ 
deed, was opposed to the measure altogether, as being 
undertaken precipitately, and without sufficient prepa- 


88 


CONQUEST OF CHAN ABA. 


ration. King Ferdinand, however, was influenced by the 
counsel of Don Diego de Merlo, and was eager to strike 
a brilliant and decided blow. A vainglorious confidence 
prevailed, about this time, among the Spanish cavaliers; 
they overrated their own prowess, or rather they under¬ 
valued and despised their enemy. Many of them believed 
that the Moors would scarcely remain in their city when 
they saw the Christian troops advancing to assail it. 
The Spanish chivalry, therefore, marched gallantly and 
fearlessly, and almost carelessly, over the border, scantily 
supplied with the things needful for a besieging army, in 
the heart of an enemy’s country. In the same negligent 
and confident spirit, they took up their station before 
Loxa. 

The country around was broken and hilly, so that it 
was extremely difficult to form a combined camp. The 
river Xenil, which runs by the town, was compressed be¬ 
tween high banks, and so deep as to be fordable with 
extreme difficulty; and the Moors had possession of the 
bridge. The king pitched his tents in a plantation of 
olives, on the banks of the river; the troops were dis¬ 
tributed in different encampments on the heights, but 
separated from each other by deep rocky ravines, so as 
to be incapable of yielding each other prompt assistance. 
There was no room for the operation of the cavalry. The 
artillery, also, was so injudiciously placed as to be almost 
entirely useless. Alonzo of Aragon, duke of Villaher- 
mosa, and illegitimate brother of the king, was present 



INSECURITY OF THE CAMP. 


89 


at the siege, and disapproved of the whole arrangement. 
He was one of the most able generals of his time, and 
especially renowned for his skill in battering fortified 
places. He recommended that the whole disposition of 
the camp should be changed, and that several bridges 
should be thrown across the river. His advice was 
adopted, but slowly and negligently followed, so that it 
was rendered of no avail. Among other oversights in this 
hasty and negligent expedition, the army had no supply 
of baked bread; and, in the hurry of encampment, there 
was no time to erect furnaces. Cakes were therefore 
hastily made, and baked on the coals, and for two days 
the troops were supplied in this irregular way. 

King Ferdinand felt, too late, the insecurity of his 
position, and endeavored to provide a temporary remedy. 
There was a height near the city, called by the Moors 
Santo Albohacen, which was in front of the bridge. He 
ordered several of his most valiant cavaliers to take pos¬ 
session of this height, and to hold it as a check upon 
the enemy and a protection to the camp. The cavaliers 
chosen for this distinguished and perilous post were the 
Marques of Cadiz, the Marques of Villena, Don Koderigo 
Tellez Giron, master of Calatrava, his brother the Count 
of Urena, and Don Alonzo de Aguilar. These valiant 
warriors and tried companions in arms led their troops 
with alacrity to the height, which soon glittered with the 
array of arms, and was graced by several of the most re¬ 
doubtable pennons of warlike Spain. 


90 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


Loxa was commanded at tliis time by an old Moorish 
alcayde, whose daughter was the favorite wife of Boabdih 
The name of this Moor was Ibrahim Ali Atar, but he was 
generally known among the Spaniards as Alatar. He 
had grown gray in border warfare, was an implacable 
enemy of the Christians, and his name had long been the 
terror of the frontier. Lord of Zagra, and in the receipt 
of rich revenues, he expended them all in paying scouts 
and spies, and maintaining a small but chosen force with 
which to foray into the Christian territories; and so 
straitened was he at times by these warlike expenses, 
that when his daughter married Boabdil, her bridal dress 
and jewels had to be borrowed. He was now in the 
ninetieth year of his age, yet indomitable in spirit, fiery 
in his passions, sinewy and powerful in frame, deeply 
versed in warlike stratagem, and accounted the best 
lance in all Mauritania. He had three thousand horse¬ 
men under his command, veteran troops, with whom he 
had often scoured the borders; and he daily expected 
the old Moorish king with reinforcements. 

Old Ali Atar had watched from his fortress every 
movement of the Christian army, and had exulted in 
all the errors of its commanders: when he beheld the 
flower of Spanish chivalry, glittering about the height of 
Albohacen, his eye flashed with exultation. “ By the aid 
of Allah,” said he, “ I will give those pranking cavaliers 
a rouse.” 

Ali Atar, privately and by night, sent forth a large 


THE BLOODY FIGHT OF ALBOHACEN. 


91 


body of liis chosen troops, to lie in ambush near one of 
the skirts of Albohacen. On the fourth day of the siege 
he sallied across the bridge, and made a feint attack 
upon the height. The cavaliers rushed impetuously 
forth to meet him, leaving their encampment almost un¬ 
protected. Ali Atar wheeled and fled, and was hotly 
pursued. When the Christian cavaliers had been drawn 
a considerable distance from their encampment, they 
heard a vast shout behind them, and, looking round, 
beheld their encampment assailed by the Moorish force 
which had been placed in ambush, and which had as¬ 
cended a different side of the hill. The cavaliers desist¬ 
ed from the pursuit, and hastened to prevent the plunder 
of their tents. Ali Atar, in his turn, wheeled and pur¬ 
sued them; and they were attacked in front and rear on 
the summit of the hill. The contest lasted for an hour ; 
the height of Albohacen was red with blood; many brave 
cavaliers fell, expiring among heaps of the enemy. The 
fierce Ali fought with the fury of a demon, until the 
arrival of more Christian forces compelled him to retreat 
into the city. The severest loss to the Christians, in this 
skirmish, was that of Roderigo Tellez Giron, grand 
master of Calatrava, whose burnished armor, emblazoned 
with the red cross of his order, made him a mark for the 
missiles of the enemy. As he was raising his arm to 
make a blow, an arrow pierced him, just beneath the 
shoulder, at the open part of the corselet. The lance 
and bridle fell from his hands, he faltered in his saddle, 


92 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


and would have fallen to the ground, but was caught by 
Pedro Gasca, a cavalier of Avila, who conveyed him to 
his tent, where he died. The king and queen, and the 
whole kingdom, mourned his death, for he was in the 
freshness of his youth, being but twenty-four years of 
age, and had proved himself a gallant and high-minded 
cavalier. A melancholy group collected about his corse, 
on the bloody height of Albohacen ; the knights of Cala- 
trava mourned him as a commander; the cavaliers who 
were encamped on the height lamented him as their com¬ 
panion in arms, in a service of peril; while the Count de 
Urena grieved over him with the tender affection of a 
brother. 

King Ferdinand now perceived the wisdom of the 
opinion of the marques of Cadiz, and that his force was 
quite insufficient for the enterprise. To continue his 
camp in its present unfortunate position would cost him 
the lives of his bravest cavaliers, if not a total defeat, in 
case of reinforcements to the enemy. He called a coun¬ 
cil of war, late in the evening of Saturday; and it was 
determined to withdraw the army, early the next morn¬ 
ing, to Rio Frio, a short distance from the city, and there 
wait for additional troops from Cordova. 

The next morning, early, the cavaliers on the height of 
Albohacen began to strike their tents. No sooner did 
Ali Atar behold this, than he sallied forth to attack 
them. Many of the Christian troops, who had not heard 
of the intention to change the camp, seeing the tents 


WITHDRAWAL FROM LOXA. 


93 


struck and the Moors sallying forth, supposed that the 
enemy had been reinforced in the night, and that the 
army was on the point of retreating. Without stopping 
to ascertain the truth or to receive orders, they fled in 
dismay, spreading confusion through the camp; nor did 
they halt until they had reached the Rock of the Lovers, 
about seven leagues from Loxa.* 

The king and his commanders saw the imminent peril 
of the moment, and made face to the Moors, each com¬ 
mander guarding his quarter and repelling all assaults, 
while the tents were struck and the artillery and ammu¬ 
nition conveyed away. The king, with a handful of cava¬ 
liers, galloped to a rising ground, exposed to the fire of 
the enemy, calling upon the flying troops and endeavor¬ 
ing in vain to rally them. Setting upon the Moors, he 
and his cavaliers charged them so vigorously, that they 
put a squadron to flight, slaying many with their swords 
and lances, and driving others into the river, where they 
were drowned. The Moors, however, were soon rein¬ 
forced, and returned in great numbers. The king was in 
danger of being surrounded, and twice owed his safety 
to the valor of Don Juan de Ribera, Senior of Monte- 
mayor. 

The marques of Cadiz beheld, from a distance, the 
peril of his sovereign. Summoning about seventy horse¬ 
men to follow him, he galloped to the spot, threw him- 


Pulgar, Cronica. 


94 


CONQUEST OF OBAN AD A. 


self "between the king and the enemy, and, hurling his 
lance, transpierced one of the most daring of the Moors, 
For some time he remained with no other weapon than 
his sword; his horse was wounded by an arrow, and 
many of his followers were slain; but he succeeded in 
beating off the Moors, and rescuing the king from immi¬ 
nent jeopardy, whom he then prevailed upon to retire to 
less dangerous ground. 

The marques continued, throughout the day, to expose 
himself to the repeated assaults of the enemy; he was 
ever found in the place of the greatest danger, and 
through his bravery a great part of the army and camp 
was preserved from destruction.* 

It was a perilous day for the commanders; for in a 
retreat of the kind, it is the noblest cavaliers who most 
expose themselves to save their people. The duke of 
Medina Celi was struck to the ground, but rescued 
by his troops. The count de Tendilla, whose tents 
were nearest to the city, received several wounds, and 
various other cavaliers of the most distinguished note 
were exposed to fearful jeopardy. The whole day was 
passed in bloody skirmishings, in which the hidal¬ 
gos and cavaliers of the royal household distinguished 
themselves by their bravery; at length, the encamp¬ 
ments being all broken up, and most of the artillery and 
baggage removed, the bloody height of Albohacen was 


* Cura de los Palacios , c. 58. 


FERDINAND'S EXCUSE. 


95 


abandoned, and the neighborhood of Loxa evacuated. 
Several tents, a quantity of provisions, and a few pieces 
of artillery, were left upon the spot, from the want of 
horses and mules to carry them off. 

Ali Atar hung upon the rear of the retiring army, 
and harassed it until it reached Rio Frio. Ferdinand 
returned thence to Cordova, deeply mortified though 
greatly benefited by the severe lesson he had received, 
which served to render him more cautious in his cam¬ 
paigns and more diffident of fortune. He sent letters to 
all parts, excusing his retreat, imputing it to the small 
number of his forces, and the circumstance that many of 
them were quotas sent from various cities, and not in 
royal pay; in the meantime, to console his troops for 
their disappointment, and to keep up their spirits, he 
led them upon another inroad to lay waste the vega of 
Granada. 


CHAPTER XL 


HOW MULEY ABUL HASSAN MADE A FORAY INTO THE LANDS OF MEDINA 
SIDONIA, AND HOW HE WAS RECEIVED. 

ULEY ABUL HASSAN had mustered an army, 
and marched to the relief of Loxa; but arrived 
too late—the last squadron of Ferdinand had 
already passed over the border. “ They have come and 
gone,” said he, “like a summer cloud, and all their 
vaunting has been mere empty thunder.” He turned to 
make another attempt upon Alhama, the garrison of 
which was in the utmost consternation at the retreat of 
Ferdinand, and would have deserted the place, had it not 
been for the courage and perseverance of the alcayde, 
Luis Fernandez Puerto Carrero. That brave and loyal 
commander cheered up the spirits of his men, and kept 
the old Moorish king at bay, until the approach of Ferdi¬ 
nand, on his second incursion into the vega, obliged him 
to make an unwilling retreat to Malaga. 

Muley Abul Hassan felt that it would be in vain, with 
his inferior force, to oppose the powerful army of the 
Christian monarch; but to remain idle and see his terri¬ 
tories laid waste, would ruin him in the estimation of his 

96 







FORAY OF MULEY ABUL HASSAN ,. 


97 


people. “If we cannot parry,” said lie, “we can strike; 
if we cannot keep our own lands from being ravaged, we 
can ravage the lands of the enemy.” He inquired and 
learned that most of the chivalry of Andalusia, in their 
eagerness for a foray, had marched off with the king, and 
left their own country almost defenseless. The terri¬ 
tories of the duke of Medina Sidonia were particularly 
unguarded: here were vast plains of pasturage, covered 
with flocks and herds—the very country for a hasty in¬ 
road. The old monarch had a bitter grudge against the 
duke for having foiled him at Alhama. “I’ll give this 
cavalier a lesson,” said he, exultingly, “that will cure 
him of his love of campaigning.” So he prepared in all 
haste for a foray into the country about Medina Sidonia. 

Muley Abul Hassan sallied out of Malaga with fifteen 
hundred horse and six thousand foot, and took the way 
by the sea-coast, marching through Estiponia, and enter¬ 
ing the Christian country between Gibraltar and Castel- 
lar. The only person that was likely to molest him on 
this route, was one Pedro de Vargas, a shrewd, hardy, 
and vigilant soldier, alcayde of Gibraltar, and who lay 
ensconced in his old warrior rock as in a citadel. Muley 
Abul Hassan knew the watchful and daring character of 
the man, but had ascertained that his garrison was too 
small to enable him to make a sally, or at least to insure 
him any success. Still he pursued his march with great 
silence and caution; sent parties in advance, to explore 
every pass where a foe might li^ 1# n ambush; cast many 
7 


98 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


an anxious eye towards the old rock of Gibraltar, as its 
cloud-capped summit was seen towering in the distance 
on his left, nor did he feel entirely at ease, until he had 
passed through the broken and mountainous country of 
Castellar, and descended into the plains. Here he en¬ 
camped on the banks of the Celemin, and sent four hun¬ 
dred corredors, or fleet horsemen, armed with lances, to 
station themselves near Algeziras, and keep a strict 
watch across the bay, upon the opposite fortress of Gib¬ 
raltar. If the alcayde attempted to sally forth, they 
were to waylay and attack him, being almost four times 
his supposed force; and were to send swift tidings to the 
camp. In the meantime, two hundred corredors were 
sent to scour that vast plain called the Campina de Ta- 
rifa, abounding with flocks and herds; and two hundred 
more were to ravage the lands about Medina Sidonia. 
Muley Abul Hassan remained with the main body of the 
army, as a rallying point, on the banks of the Celemin. 

The foraging parties scoured the country to such ef¬ 
fect, that they came driving vast flocks and herds before 
them, enough to supply the place of all that had been 
swept from the vega of Granada. The troops which had 
kept watch upon the rock of Gibraltar, returned with 
word that they had not seen a Christian helmet stirring. 
The old king congratulated himself upon the secrecy and 
promptness with which he had conducted his foray, and 
upon having baffled the vigilance of Pedro de "Vargas. 

He had not been so secret, however, as he imagined; 


VIGILANCE OF PEDRO BE VARGAS. 


99 


the watchful alcayde of Gibraltar had received notice of 
his movements ; but his garrison was barely sufficient 
for the defense of his post. Luckily there arrived at this 
juncture a squadron of the armed galleys, under Carlos 
de Valera, recently stationed in the Straits. Pedro de 
Vargas prevailed upon him to take charge of Gibraltar 
during his temporary absence, and forthwith sallied out 
at midnight, at the head of seventy chosen horsemen. 
By his command alarm fires were lighted on the moun¬ 
tains, signals that the Moors were on the ravage, at sight 
of which the peasants were accustomed to drive their 
flocks and herds to places of refuge. He sent couriers 
also spurring in every direction, summoning all capable 
of bearing arms to meet him at Castellar. This was a 
town strongly posted on a steep height, by which the 
Moorish king would have to return. 

Muley Abul Hassan saw by the fires blazing on the 
mountains, that the country was rising. He struck his 
tents, and pushed forward as rapidly as possible for the 
border; but he was encumbered with booty, and with the 
vast cavalgada swept from the pastures of the Campina 
de Tarifa. His scouts brought him word that there were 
troops in the field, but he made light of the intelligence, 
knowing that they could only be those of the alcayde of 
Gibraltar, and that he had not more than a hundred 
horsemen in his garrison. He threw in advance two hun¬ 
dred and fifty of his bravest troops, and with them the 
alcaydes of Marabella and Casares. Behind this van- 


L.ofC. 


100 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA . 


guard followed a great cavalgada of cattle; and in the 
rear marched the king, with the main force of his little 
army. 

It was near the middle of a sultry summer day, when 
they approached Castellar. De Yargas was on the watch, 
and beheld, by an immense cloud of dust, that they were 
descending one of the heights of that wild and broken 
country. The vanguard and rear-guard were above half 
a league asunder, with the cavalgada between them; and 
a long and close forest hid them from each other. De 
Yargas saw that they could render but little assistance to 
each other in case of a sudden attack, and might be eas¬ 
ily thrown into confusion. He chose fifty of his bravest 
horsemen, and, making a circuit, took his post secretly in 
a narrow glen opening into a defile between two rocky 
heights, through which the Moors had to pass. It was 
his intention to suffer the vanguard and the cavalgada to 
pass, and to fall upon the rear. 

While thus lying perdue, six Moorish scouts, well 
mounted and well armed, entered the glen, examining 
every place that might conceal an enemy. Some of the 
Christians advised that they should slay these six men, 
and retreat to Gibraltar. “No,” said De Yargas, “I have 
come out for higher game than these ; and I hope, by the 
aid of God and Santiago, to do good work this day. I 
know these Moors well, and doubt not but that they may 
readily be thrown into confusion.” 

By this time, the six horsemen approached so near 


THE MOORS ENTRAPPED BT AMBUSH. 


101 


that they were on the point of discovering the Christian 
ambush. De Yargas gave the word, and ten horsemen 
rushed upon them; in an instant, four of the Moors 
rolled in the dust; the other two put spurs to their 
steeds, and fled towards their army, pursued by the ten 
Christians. About eighty of the Moorish vanguard came 
galloping to the relief of their companions; the Chris¬ 
tians turned, and fled towards their ambush. De Yargas 
kept his men concealed, until the fugitives and their pur¬ 
suers came clattering pell-mell into the glen. At a signal 
trumpet his men sallied forth with great heat and in 
close array. The Moors almost rushed upon their wea¬ 
pons, before they perceived them; forty of the infidels 
were overthrown, the rest turned their backs. “For¬ 
ward!” cried De Yargas; “let us give the vanguard a 
brush, before it can be joined by the rear.” So saying, 
he pursued the flying Moors down hill, and came with 
such force and fury upon the advance guard as to over¬ 
turn many of them at the first encounter. As he wheeled 
off with his men the Moors discharged their lances; upon 
which he turned to the charge, and made great slaughter. 
The Moors fought valiantly for a short time, until the 
alcaydes of Marabella and Casares were slain, when they 
gave way and fled for the rear-guard. In their flight, they 
passed through the cavalgada of cattle, threw the whole 
in confusion, and raised such a cloud of dust that the 
Christians could no longer distinguish objects. Fearing 
that the king and the main body might be at hand, and 



102 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


finding that De Yargas was badly wounded, they content¬ 
ed themselves with despoiling the slain and taking about 
twenty-eight horses, and then retreated to Castellar. 

When the routed Moors came flying back upon the 
rear-guard, Muley Abul Hassan feared that the people of 
Xeres were in arms. Several of his followers advised 
him to abandon the cavalgada, and retreat by another 
road. “ No,” said the old king, “ he is no true soldier 
who gives up his booty without fighting.” Putting spurs 
to his horse, he galloped forward through the centre of 
the cavalgada, driving the cattle to the right and left. 
When he reached the field of battle, he found it strew¬ 
ed with the bodies of upwards of one hundred Moors, 
among which were those of the two alcaydes. Enraged 
at the sight, he summoned all his cross-bowmen and 
cavalry, pushed on to the very gates of Castellar, and set 
fire to two houses close to the walls. Pedro de Yargas 
was too severely wounded to sally forth in person; but 
he ordered out his troops, and there was brisk skirmish¬ 
ing under the walls, until the king drew off and returned 
to the scene of the recent encounter. Here he had the 
bodies of the principal warriors laid across mules, to be 
interred honorably at Malaga; the rest of tho slain were 
buried on the field of battle. Then, gathering together 
the scattered cavalgada, he paraded it slowly, in an im¬ 
mense line, past the walls of Castellar, by way of taunt¬ 
ing his foe. 

With all his fierceness, old Muley Abul Hassan had & 


MUTUAL COURTESIES . 


103 


gleam of warlike courtesy, and admired the hardy and 
soldier-like character of Pedro de Yargas. He summoned 
two Christian captives, and demanded what were the 
revenues of the alcayde of Gibraltar. They told him 
that, among other things, he was entitled to one out of 
every drove of cattle that passed his boundaries. “ Allah 
forbid,” cried the old monarch, “ that so brave a cavalier 
should be defrauded of his dues.” 

He immediately chose twelve of the finest cattle, from 
the twelve droves which formed the cavalgada. These 
he gave in charge to an alfaqui, to deliver to Pedro de 
Yargas. “Tell him,” said he, “that I crave his pardon 
for not having sent these cattle sooner; but I have this 
moment learnt the nature of his rights, and I hasten to 
satisfy them, with the punctuality due to so worthy a 
cavalier. Tell him, at the same time, that I had no idea 
the alcayde of Gibraltar was so active and vigilant in col¬ 
lecting his tolls.” 

The brave alcayde relished the stern soldier-like pleas¬ 
antry of the old Moorish monarch. He ordered a rich 
silken vest, and a scarlet mantle, to be given to the alfa¬ 
qui, and dismissed him with great courtesy. “Tell his 
majesty,” said he, “ that I kiss his hands for the honor 
he has done me, and regret that my scanty force has 
not permitted me to give him a more signal reception, on 
his coming into these parts. Had three hundred horse¬ 
men, whom I have been promised from Xeres, arrived in 
time, I might have served up an entertainment more be- 



104 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


fitting such a monarch. I trust, however, they will ar¬ 
rive in the course of the night, in which case his majesty 
may be sure of a royal regale in the dawning.” 

Muley Abul Hassan shook his head, when he received 
the reply of De Yargas. “Allah preserve us,” said he, 
“from any visitation of these hard riders of Xeres! a 
handful of troops, acquainted with the wild passes of 
these mountains, may destroy an army encumbered as 
ours is with booty.” 

It was some relief to the king, however, to learn that 
the hardy alcayde of Gibraltar was too severely wounded 
to take the field in person. He immediately beat a re¬ 
treat, with all speed, before the close of the day, hurry¬ 
ing with such precipitation, that the cavalgada was fre¬ 
quently broken, and scattered among the rugged defiles 
of the mountains; and above five thousand of the cattle 
turned back, and were regained by the Christians. Mu¬ 
ley Abul Hassan returned triumphantly with the residue 
to Malaga, glorying in the spoils of the duke of Medina 
Sidonia. 

King Ferdinand was mortified at finding his incursion 
into the vega of Granada counterbalanced by this inroad 
into his dominions, and saw that there were two sides to 
the game of war, as to all other games. The only one 
who reaped real glory, in this series of inroads and skir¬ 
mishings, was Pedro de Yargas, the stout alcayde of 
Gibraltar.* 

* Alonzo de Palencia, lib. 28, c. 3, MS. 


CHAPTER Xn. 


FORAY OF SPANISH CAVALIERS AMONG THE MOUNTAINS OF MALAGA. 

HE foray of old Muley Abul Hassan had touch¬ 
ed the pride of the Andalusian chivalry, and 
they determined on retaliation. Eor this pur¬ 
pose, a number of the most distinguished cavaliers as¬ 
sembled at Antiquera, in the month of March, 1483. The 
leaders of the enterprise were, the gallant marques of 
Cadiz; Don Pedro Henriquez, adelantado of Andalusia; 
Don Juan de Silva, count of Cifuentes, and bearer of the 
royal standard, who commanded in Seville; Don Alonzo 
de Cardenas, master of the religious and military order 
of Santiago ; and Don Alonzo de Aguilar. Several other 
cavaliers of note hastened to take part in the enterprise ; 
and in a little while, about twenty-seven hundred horse, 
and several companies of foot, were assembled within 
the old warlike city of Antiquera, comprising the very 
flower of Andalusian chivalry. 

A council of war was held by the chiefs, to determine 
in what quarter they should strike a blow. The rival 
Moorish kings were waging civil war with each other, in 
the vicinity of Granada: and the whole country lay open 

105 





106 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


to inroads. Yarions plans were proposed by the different 
cavaliers. The marques of Cadiz was desirous of scaling 
the walls of Zahara, and regaining possession of that im¬ 
portant fortress. The master of Santiago, however, sug¬ 
gested a wider range and a still more important object. 
He had received information from his adalides, who were 
apostate Moors, that an incursion might be safely made 
into a mountainous region near Malaga, called the Axar- 
quia. Here were valleys of pasture land, well stocked 
with flocks and herds ; and there were numerous villages 
and hamlets, which would be an easy prey. The city of 
Malaga was too weakly garrisoned, and had too few cav¬ 
alry, to send forth any force in opposition; nay, he added, 
they might even extend their ravages to its very gates, 
and peradventure carry that wealthy place by sudden 
assault. 

The adventurous spirits of the cavaliers were inflamed 
by this suggestion ; in their sanguine confidence, they al¬ 
ready beheld Malaga in their power, and they were eager 
for the enterprise. The marques of Cadiz endeavored to 
interpose a little cool caution. He likewise had apostate 
adalides, the most intelligent and experienced on the 
borders; among these, he placed especial reliance on one 
named Luis Amar, who knew all the mountains and val¬ 
leys of the country. He had received from him a partic¬ 
ular account of these mountains of the Axarquia.* Their 

* Pulgar, in his Chronicle, reverses the case, and makes the marques 
of Cadiz recommend the expedition to the Axarquia; but Fray Antonio 


FORA T OF SPANISH CA VALIERS. 


107 


savage and broken nature was a sufficient defense for the 
fierce people who inhabited them, who, manning their 
rocks, and their tremendous passes, which were often 
nothing more than the deep dry beds of torrents, might 
set whole armies at defiance. Even if vanquished, they 
afforded no spoil to the victor. Their houses were little 
better than bare walls, and they would drive off their 
scanty flocks and herds to the fastnesses of the moun¬ 
tains. 

The sober counsel of the marques, however, was over¬ 
ruled. The cavaliers, accustomed to mountain warfare, 
considered themselves and their horses equal to any 
wild and rugged expedition, and were flushed with the 
idea of terminating their foray by a brilliant assault upon 
Malaga. 

Leaving all heavy baggage at Antiquera, and all such 
as had horses too weak for this mountain scramble, they 
set forth, full of spirit and confidence. Don Alonzo de 
Aguilar, and the adelantado of x4.ndalusia, led the squad¬ 
ron of advance. The count of Cifuentes followed, with 
certain of the chivalry of Seville. Then came the bat¬ 
talion of the most valiant Roderigo Ponce de Leon, mar¬ 
ques of Cadiz; he was accompanied by several of his 
brothers and nephews, and many cavaliers, who sought 
distinction under his banner ; and this family band at¬ 
tracted universal attention and applause, as they paraded 

Agapida is supported in his statement by that most veracious and con¬ 
temporary chronicler, Andres Bemaldes, curate of Los Palacios. 


108 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA . 


in martial state through the streets of Antiquera. The 
rear-guard was led by Don Alonzo Cardenas, master of 
Santiago, and was composed of the knights of his order, 
and the cavaliers of Ecija, with certain men-at-arms of 
the Holy Brotherhood, whom the king had placed under 
his command. The army was attended by a great train 
of mules, laden with provisions for a few days’ supply, 
until they should be able to forage among the Moorish 
villages. Never did a more gallant and self-confident 
little army tread the earth. It was composed of men full 
of health and vigor, to whom war was a pastime and 
delight. They had spared no expense in their equip¬ 
ments, for never was the pomp of war carried to a higher 
pitch than among the proud chivalry of Spain. Cased in 
armor richly inlaid and embossed, with rich surcoats and 
waving plumes, and superbly mounted on Andalusian 
steeds, they pranced out of Antiquera with banners fly¬ 
ing, and their various devices and armorial bearings 
ostentatiously displayed; and in the confidence of their 
hopes, promised the inhabitants to enrich them with the 
spoils of Malaga. 

In the rear of this warlike pageant followed a peaceful 
band, intent on profiting by the anticipated victories. 
They were not the customary wretches that hover about 
armies to plunder and strip the dead, but goodly and 
substantial traders from Seville, Cordova, and other 
cities of traffic. They rode sleek mules, and were clad in 
goodly raiment, with long leather purses at their girdles, 


EL ZAGAL. 


109 


well filled with pistoles and other golden coin. They 
had heard of the spoils wasted by the soldiery at the 
capture of Alhama, and were provided with moneys to 
buy up the jewels and precious stones, the vessels of 
gold and silver, and the rich silks and cloths, that should 
form the plunder of Malaga. The proud cavaliers eyed 
these sons of traffic with great disdain, but permitted 
them to follow for the convenience of the troops, who 
might otherwise be overburdened with booty. 

It had been intended to conduct this expedition with 
great celerity and secrecy; but the noise of their prepara¬ 
tions had already reached the city of Malaga. The gar¬ 
rison, it is true, was weak; but it possessed a commander 
who was himself a host. This was Muley Abdallah, com¬ 
monly called El Zagal, or the Yaliant. He was younger 
brother of Muley Abul Hassan, and general of the few 
forces which remained faithful to the old monarch. He 
possessed equal fierceness of spirit with his brother, and 
surpassed him in craft and vigilance. His very name 
was a war-cry among his soldiery, who had the most ex¬ 
travagant opinion of his prowess. 

El Zagal suspected that Malaga was the object of this 
noisy expedition. He consulted with old Bexir, a vet¬ 
eran Moor, who governed the city. “If this army of 
marauders should reach Malaga,” said he, “we should 
hardly be able to keep them without its walls. I will 
throw myself, with a small force, into the mountains; 
rouse the peasantry, take possession of the passes, and 


110 


CONQUEST OF OB AN AD A. 


endeavor to give these Spanish cavaliers sufficient enter¬ 
tainment upon the road.” 

It was on a Wednesday, that the pranking army of 
high-mettled warriors issued forth from the ancient gates 
of Antiquera. They marched all day and night, making 
their way, secretly as they supposed, through the passes 
of the mountains. As the tract of country they intended 
to maraud was far in the Moorish territories near the 
coast of the Mediterranean, they did not arrive there un¬ 
til late in the following day. In passing through these 
stern and lofty mountains, their path was often along the 
bottom of a barranco, or deep rocky valley, with a scanty 
stream dashing along it, among the loose rocks and 
stones, which it had broken and rolled down, in the time 
of its autumnal violence. Sometimes their road was a 
mere rambla, or dry bed of a torrent, cut deep into the 
mountains, and filled with their shattered fragments. 
These barrancos and ramblas were overhung by immense 
cliffs and precipices; forming the lurking-places of am¬ 
buscades, during the wars between the Moors and Span¬ 
iards, as in after times they have become the favorite 
haunts of robbers to waylay the unfortunate traveller. 

As the sun went down, the cavaliers came to a lofty 
part of the mountains, commanding to the right a distant 
glimpse of a part of the fair vega of Malaga, with the 
blue Mediterranean beyond; and they hailed it with 
exultation, as a glimpse of the promised land. As the 
night closed in, they reached the chain of little valleys 


AMONG THE MOUNTAINS. 


Ill 


and hamlets, locked up among these rocky heights, and 
known among the Moors by the name of the Axarquia. 
Here their vaunting hopes were destined to meet with 
the first disappointment. The inhabitants had heard of 
their approach; they had conveyed away their cattle and 
effects, and, with their wives and children, had taken 
refuge in the towers and fastnesses of the mountains. 

Enraged at their disappointment, the troops set fire to 
the deserted houses, and pressed forward, hoping for 
better fortune as they advanced. Don Alonzo de Aguilar, 
and the other cavaliers in the vanguard, spread out their 
forces to lay waste the country; capturing a few linger¬ 
ing herds of cattle, with the Moorish peasants who were 
driving them to some place of safety. 

While this marauding party carried fire and sword in 
the advance, and lit up the mountain cliffs with the 
flames of the hamlets, the master of Santiago, who 
brought up the rear-guard, maintained strict order, keep¬ 
ing his knights together in martial array, ready for attack 
or defense, should an enemy appear. The men-at-arms 
of the Holy Brotherhood attempted to roam in quest of 
booty; but he called them back, and rebuked them se¬ 
verely. 

At length they came to a part of the mountain com¬ 
pletely broken up by barrancos and ramblas, of vast 
depth, and shagged with rocks and precipices. It was 
impossible to maintain the order of march; the horses 
had no room for action, and were scarcely manageable, 



112 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


having to scramble from rock to rock, and np and down 
frightful declivities, where there was scarce footing for a 
mountain goat. Passing by a burning village, the light 
of the flames revealed their perplexed situation. The 
Moors, who had taken refuge in a watch-tower on an 
impending height, shouted with exultation, when they 
looked down upon these glistening cavaliers struggling 
and stumbling among the rocks. Sallying forth from 
their tower, they took possession of the cliffs which over¬ 
hung the ravine, and hurled darts and stones upon the 
enemy. It was with the utmost grief of heart that the 
good master of Santiago beheld his brave men falling 
like helpless victims around him, without the means of 
resistance or revenge. The confusion of his followers 
was increased by the shouts of the Moors, multiplied by 
the echoes of every crag and cliff, as if they were sur¬ 
rounded by innumerable foes. Being entirely ignorant of 
the country, in their struggles to extricate themselves 
they plunged into other glens and defiles, where they 
were still more exposed to danger. In this extremity, the 
master of Santiago dispatched messengers in search of 
succor. The marques of Cadiz, like a loyal companion in 
arms, hastened to his aid with his cavalry; his approach 
checked the assaults of the enemy, and the master was 
at length enabled to extricate his troops from the defile. 

In the meantime, Don Alonzo de Aguilar and his com¬ 
panions, in their eager advance, had likewise got entan¬ 
gled in deep glens and the dry beds of torrents, where 


REPULSE OF THE CAVALIERS. 


113 


they had been severely galled by the insulting attacks of 
a handful of Moorish peasants posted on the impending 
precipices. The proud spirit of De Aguilar was incensed 
at having the game of war thus turned upon him, and his 
gallant forces domineered over by mountain boors, whom 
he had thought to drive, like their own cattle, to Anth 
quera. Hearing, however, that his friend the marques of 
Cadiz, and the master of Santiago, were engaged with 
the enemy, he disregarded his own danger, and, calling 
together his troops, returned to assist them, or rather to 
partake their perils. Being once more together, the cava¬ 
liers held a hasty council, amidst the hurling of stones 
and the whistling of arrows; and their resolves were 
quickened by the sight, from time to time, of some gal¬ 
lant companion in arms laid low. They determined that 
there was no spoil in this part of the country, to repay 
for the extraordinary peril; and that it was better to 
abandon the herds they had already taken, which only 
embarrassed their march, and to retreat with all speed to 
less dangerous ground. 

The adalides, or guides, were ordered to lead the way 
out of this place of carnage. These, thinking to conduct 
them by the most secure route, led them by a steep and 
rocky pass, difficult for the foot-soldiers, but almost im¬ 
practicable to the cavalry. It was overhung with preci¬ 
pices, from whence showers of stones and arrows were 
poured upon them, accompanied by savage yells, which 
appalled the stoutest heart. In some places, they could 
8 


114 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


pass but one at a time, and were often transpierced, 
horse and rider, by the Moorish darts, impeding the pro¬ 
gress of their comrades by their dying struggles. The 
surrounding precipices were lit up by a thousand alarm- 
fires ; every crag and cliff had its flame, by the light of 
which they beheld their foes, bounding from rock to 
rock, and looking more like fiends than mortal men. 

Either through terror and confusion, or through real 
ignorance of the country, their guides, instead of con¬ 
ducting them out of the mountains, led them deeper into 
their fatal recesses. The morning dawned upon them in 
a narrow rambla, its bottom formed of broken rocks, 
where once had raved along the mountain torrent; while 
above, there beetled great arid cliffs, over the brows of 
which they beheld the turbaned heads of their fierce and 
exulting foes. What a different appearance did the un¬ 
fortunate cavaliers present, from that of the gallant band 
that marched so vauntingly out of Antiquera! Covered 
with dust, and blood, and wounds, and haggard with 
fatigue and horror, they looked like victims rather than 
like warriors. Many of their banners were lost, and not 
a trumpet was heard to rally up their sinking spirits. 
The men turned with imploring eyes to their command¬ 
ers ; while the hearts of the cavaliers were ready to burst 
with rage and grief at the merciless havoc made among 
their faithful followers. 

All day they made ineffectual attempts to extricate 
themselves from the mountains. Columns of smoke rose 


SCALING THE MOUNTAIN 


115 


from tlie heights, where, in the preceding night, had 
blazed the alarm-fire. The mountaineers assembled from 
every direction; they swarmed at every pass, getting in 
the advance of the Christians, and garrisoning the c liff ? 
like so many towers and battlements. 

Night closed again upon the Christians, when they 
were shut up in a narrow valley traversed by a deep 
stream, and surrounded by precipices which seemed to 
reach the skies, and on which blazed and flared the 
alarm-fires. Suddenly a new cry was heard resounding 
along the valley: “El Zagal! El Zagal!” echoed from 
cliff to cliff. “What cry is that?” said the master of 
Santiago. “ It is the war-cry of El Zagal, the Moorish 
general,” said an old Castilian soldier: “ he must be 
coming in person, with the troops of Malaga.” 

The worthy master turned to his knights: “ Let us 
die,” said he, “ making a road with our hearts, since we 
cannot with our swords. Let us scale the mountain, and 
sell our lives dearly, instead of staying here to be tamely 
butchered.” 

So saying, he turned his steed against the mountain, 
and spurred him up its flinty side. Horse and foot fol¬ 
lowed his example, eager, if they could not escape, to 
have at least a dying blow at the enemy. As they strug¬ 
gled up the height, a tremendous storm of darts and 
stones were showered upon them by the Moors. Some¬ 
times a fragment of rock came bounding and thundering 
down, ploughing its way through the centre of their 


116 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


host. The foot-soldiers, faint with weariness and hun¬ 
ger, or crippled by wounds, held by the tails and manes 
of the horses to aid them in their ascent; while the 
horses, losing their foothold among the loose stones, or 
receiving some sudden wound, tumbled down the steep 
declivity, steed, rider, and soldier, rolling from crag to 
crag until they were dashed to pieces in the valley. In 
this desperate struggle, the alferez or standard-bearer of 
the master, with his standard, was lost; as were many of 
his relations and his dearest friends. At length he suc¬ 
ceeded in attaining the crest of the mountain; but it was 
only to be plunged in new difficulties. A wilderness of 
rocks and rugged dells lay before him, beset by cruel 
foes. Having neither banner nor trumpet by which to 
rally his troops, they wandered apart, each intent upon 
saving himself from the precipices of the mountains, and 
the darts of the enemy. When the pious master of San¬ 
tiago beheld the scattered fragments of his late gallant 
force, he could not restrain his grief. “ O God! ” ex¬ 
claimed he, “great is thine anger this day against thy 
servants. Thou hast converted the cowardice of these 
infidels into desperate valor, and hast made peasants and 
boors victorious over armed men of battle.” 

He would fain have kept with his foot-soldiers, and, 
gathering them together, have made head against the en¬ 
emy ; but those around him entreated him to think only 
of his personal safety. To remain was to perish, with¬ 
out striking a blow; to escape was to preserve a life that 




DISPERSION OF THE CAVALIERS. 


117 


might be devoted to vengeance on the Moors. The mastei 
reluctantly yielded to the advice. “ 0 Lord of hosts ! ” 
exclaimed he again, “ from thy wrath do I fly ; not from 
these infidels : they are but instruments in thy hands, to 
chastise us for our sins.” So saying, he sent the guides 
in the advance, and putting spurs to his horse, dashed 
through a defile of the mountains before the Moors could 
intercept him. The moment the master put his horse to 
speed, his troops scattered in all directions. Some en¬ 
deavored to follow his traces, but were confounded among 
the intricacies of the mountain. They fled hither and 
thither, many perishing among the precipices, others be¬ 
ing slain by the Moors, and others taken prisoners. 

The gallant marques of Cadiz, guided by his trusty 
adalid, Luis Amar, had ascended a different part of the 
mountain. He was followed by his friend, Don Alonzo 
de Aguilar, the adelantado, and the count of Cifuentes; 
but, in the darkness and confusion, the bands of these 
commanders became separated from each other. When 
the marques attained the summit, he looked around for 
his companions in arms ; but they were no longer fol¬ 
lowing him, and there was no trumpet to summon them. 
It was a consolation to the marques, however, that 
his brothers and several of his relations, with a num¬ 
ber of his retainers, were still with him; he called his 
brothers by name, and their replies gave comfort to his 
heart. 

His guide now led the way into another valley, where 


118 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA . 


lie would be less exposed to danger; when he had 
reached the bottom of it, the marques paused to collect 
his scattered followers, and to give time for his fellow- 
commanders to rejoin him. Here he was suddenly as¬ 
sailed by the troops of El Zagal, aided by the mountain¬ 
eers from the cliffs. The Christians, exhausted and 
terrified, lost all presence of mind: most of them fled, 
and were either slain or taken captive. The marques 
and his valiant brothers, with a few tried friends, made a 
stout resistance. His horse was killed under him; his 
brothers, Don Diego and Don Lope, with his two neph¬ 
ews, Don Lorenzo and Don Manuel, were one by one 
swept from his side, either transfixed with darts and 
lances by the soldiers of El Zagal, or crushed by stones 
from the heights. The marques was a veteran warrior, 
and had been in many a bloody battle; but never before 
had death fallen so thick and close around him. When 
he saw his remaining brother, Don Beltram, struck out 
of his saddle by a fragment of a rock, and his horse run¬ 
ning wildly about without his rider, he gave a cry of 
anguish, and stood bewildered and aghast. A few faith¬ 
ful followers surrounded him, and entreated him to fly for 
his life. He would still have remained, to have shared 
the fortunes of his friend, Don Alonzo de Aguilar, and 
his other companions in arms ; but the forces of El Zagal 
were between him and them, and death was whistling by 
on every wind. Reluctantly, therefore, he consented to 
fly. Another horse was brought him : his faithful adalid 


DISASTROUS END OF THE FORAY. 


119 


guided him by one of the steepest paths, which lasted 
for four leagues ; the enemy still hanging on his traces, 
and thinning the scanty ranks of his followers. At 
length the marques reached the extremity of the moun¬ 
tain defiles, and, with a haggard remnant of his men, 
escaped by dint of hoof to Antiquera. 

The count of Cifuentes, with a few of his retainers, in 
attempting to follow the marques of Cadiz, wandered into 
a narrow pass, where they were completely surrounded 
by the band of El Zagal. The count himself was as¬ 
sailed by six of the enemy, against whom he was defend¬ 
ing himself with desperation, when their leader, struck 
with the inequality of the fight, ordered the others to 
desist, and continued the combat alone. The count, 
already exhausted, was soon compelled to surrender ; his 
brother, Don Pedro de Silva, and the few of his retainers 
who survived, were likewise taken prisoners. The Moor¬ 
ish cavalier who had manifested such a chivalric spirit 
in encountering the count singly, was Eaduan Yanegas, 
brother of the former vizier of Muley Abul Hassan, and 
one of the leaders of the faction of the sultana Zoraya. 

The dawn of day found Don Alonzo de Aguilar, with 
a handful of his followers, still among the mountains. 
They had attempted to follow the marques of Cadiz, but 
had been obliged to pause and defend themselves against 
the thickening forces of the enemy. They at length 
traversed the mountain, and reached the same valley 
where the marques had made his last disastrous stand. 


120 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


Wearied and perplexed, they sheltered themselves in a 
natural grotto, under an overhanging rock, which kept off 
the darts of the enemy; while a bubbling fountain gave 
them the means of slaking their raging thirst, and re¬ 
freshing their exhausted steeds. As day broke, the 
scene of slaughter unfolded its horrors. There lay the 
noble brothers and nephews of the gallant marques, 
transfixed with darts, or gashed and bruised with un¬ 
seemly wounds; while many other gallant cavaliers lay 
stretched out dead and dying around, some of them 
partly stripped and plundered by the Moors. De Agui¬ 
lar was a pious knight, but his piety was not humble and 
resigned, like that of the worthy master of Santiago. He 
imprecated holy curses upon the infidels for having thus 
laid low the flower of Christian chivalry; and he vowed 
in his heart bitter vengeance upon the surrounding 
country. 

By degrees, the little force of De Aguilar was aug¬ 
mented by numbers of fugitives, who issued from caves 
and chasms, where they had taken refuge in the night. 
A little band of mounted knights was gradually formed; 
and the Moors having abandoned the heights to collect 
the spoils of the slain, this gallant but forlorn squadron 
was enabled to retreat to Antiquera. 

This disastrous affair lasted from Thursday evening, 
throughout Friday, the twenty-first of March, the festival 
of St. Benedict. It is still recorded in Spanish calendars 
as the defeat of the mountains of Malaga; and the spot 


TRIUMPH OF THE MOORS. 


121 


where the greatest slaughter took place is called la Cuesta 
de la Matanza , or The Hill of the Massacre. The princi¬ 
pal leaders who survived returned to Antiquera. Many 
of the knights took refuge in Alhama and other towns; 
many wandered about the mountains for eight days, liv¬ 
ing on roots and herbs, hiding themselves during the 
day, and sallying forth at night. So enfeebled and dis¬ 
heartened were they, that they offered no resistance if 
attacked. Three or four soldiers would surrender to a 
Moorish peasant; and even the women of Malaga sallied 
forth and made prisoners. Some were thrown into the 
dungeons of frontier towns, others led captive to Gra¬ 
nada ; but by far the greater number were conducted to 
Malaga, the city they had threatened to attack. Two 
hundred and fifty principal cavaliers, alcaydes, command¬ 
ers, and hidalgos, of generous blood, were confined in the 
Alcazaba, or citadel of Malaga, to await their ransom; 
and five hundred and seventy of the common soldiery 
were crowded in an inclosure or court-yard of the Alca¬ 
zaba, to be sold as slaves.* 

Great spoils were collected of splendid armor and 
weapons taken from the slain, or thrown away by the 
cavaliers in their flight; and many horses, magnificently 
caparisoned, together with numerous standards—ail 
which were paraded in triumph in the Moorish towns. 

The merchants, also, who had come with the army, in- 


* Cura de los Palacios . 


122 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


tending to traffic in the spoils of the Moors, were them¬ 
selves made objects of traffic. Several of them were 
driven like cattle before the Moorish viragoes, to the 
market of Malaga; and in spite of all their adroitness 
in trade, and their attempts to buy themselves off at a 
cheap ransom, they were unable to purchase their free¬ 
dom without such draughts upon their money-bags at 
home as drained them to the very bottom. 




CHAPTER Xm. 


EFFECTS OF THE DISASTEliS AMONG THE MOUNTAINS OF MALAGA. 


HE people of Antiquera had scarcely recovered 
from the tumult of excitement and admiration, 
caused by the departure of the gallant band of 
cavaliers upon their foray, when they beheld the scat¬ 
tered wrecks flying for refuge to their walls. Day after 
day, and hour after hour, brought some wretched fugi¬ 
tive, in whose battered plight, and haggard, woebegone 
demeanor, it was almost impossible to recognize the war¬ 
rior who had lately issued so gayly and gloriously from 
their gates. 

The arrival of the marques of Cadiz, almost alone, cov¬ 
ered with dust and blood, his armor shattered and de¬ 
faced, his countenance the picture of despair, filled every 
heart with sorrow, for he was greatly beloved by the 
people. The multitude asked of his companions, where 
was the band of brothers which had rallied round him as 
he went forth to the field; and when told that one by 
one they had been slaughtered at his side, they hushed 
their voices, or spake to each other only in whispers as 
he passed, gazing at him in silent sympathy. No one at- 

123 






124 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


tempted to console him in so great an affliction, nor did 
the good marques speak ever a word, but, shutting him¬ 
self up, brooded in lonely anguish over his misfortune. 
It was only the arrival of Don Alonzo de Aguilar that 
gave him a gleam of consolation, rejoicing to find that 
amidst the shafts of death which had fallen so thickly 
among his family his chosen friend and brother in arms 
had escaped uninjured. 

For several days every eye was turned, in fearful sus¬ 
pense, toward the Moorish border, anxiously looking, in 
every fugitive from the mountains, for the lineaments of 
some friend or relative, whose fate was yet a mystery. 
At length every hope and doubt subsided into certainty; 
the whole extent of this great calamity was known, 
spreading grief and consternation throughout the land, 
and laying desolate the pride and hopes of palaces. It 
was a sorrow that visited the marble hall and silken 
pillow. Stately dames mourned over the loss of their 
sons, the joy and glory of their age; and many a fair 
cheek was blanched with woe, which had lately mantled 
with secret admiration. “All Andalusia,” says a his¬ 
torian of the time, “was overwhelmed by a great afflic¬ 
tion ; there was no drying of the eyes which wept in 
her.” * 

Fear and trembling reigned, for a time, along the fron¬ 
tier. Their spear seemed broken, their buckler cleft in 


* Cura de los Palacios . 



EFFECTS OF THE DISASTERS. 


125 


twain: every border town dreaded an attack, and the 
mother caught her infant to her bosom when the watch¬ 
dog howled, in the night, fancying it the war-cry of the 
Moor. All, for a time, seemed lost; and despondency 
even found its way to the royal breasts of Ferdinand and 
Isabella, amidst the splendors of their court. 

Great, on the other hand, was the joy of the Moors, 
when they saw whole legions of Christian warriors 
brought captive into their towns, by rude mountain peas¬ 
antry. They thought it the work of Allah in favor of the 
faithful. But when they recognized, among the captives 
thus dejected and broken down, some of the proudest of 
Christian chivalry; when they saw several of the banners 
and devices of the noblest houses of Spain, which they 
had been accustomed to behold in the foremost of the 
battle, now trailed ignominiously through their streets ; 
when, in short, they witnessed the arrival of the count of 
Cifuentes, the royal standard-bearer of Spain, with his 
gallant brother Don Pedro de Silva, brought prisoners 
into the gates of Granada, there were no bounds to their 
exultation. They thought that the days of their ancient 
glory were about to return, and that they were to renew 
their career of triumph over the unbelievers. 

The Christian historians of the time are sorely per¬ 
plexed to account for this misfortune; and why so many 
Christian knights, fighting in the cause of the holy faith, 
should thus miraculously, as it were, be given captive to 
a handful of infidel boors; for we are assured, that all 


126 


CONQUEST OF OBANADA. 


this rout and destruction was effected by five hundred 
foot and fifty horse, and those mere mountaineers, with¬ 
out science or discipline.* “ It was intended,” observes 
one historiographer, “ as a lesson to their confidence and 
vainglory; overrating their own prowess and thinking 
that so chosen a band of chivalry had but to appear in 
the land of the enemy, and conquer. It w^as to teach 
them that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to 
the strong, but that God alone givetli the victory.” 

The worthy father Fray Antonio Agapida, however, 
asserts it to be a punishment for the avarice of the Span¬ 
ish warriors. They did not enter the kingdom of the in¬ 
fidels with the pure spirit of Christian knights, zealous 
only for the glory of the faith, but rather as greedy men 
of traffic, to enrich themselves by vending the spoils of 
the infidels. Instead of preparing themselves by confes¬ 
sion and communion, and executing their testaments, and 
making donations and bequests to churches and con¬ 
vents, they thought only of arranging bargains and sales 
of their anticipated booty. Instead of taking with them 
holy monks to aid them with their prayers, they were 
followed by a train of trading men, to keep alive their 
worldly and sordid ideas, and to turn what ought to be 
holy triumphs into scenes of brawling traffic. Such is 
the opinion of the excellent Agapida, in which he is 
joined by that most worthy and upright of chroniclers, 


* Cura de los Palacios. 


CAUSES OF THE DEFEAT. 


127 


the curate of Los Palacios. Agapida comforts himself, 
however, with the reflection, that this visitation was 
meant in mercy, to try the Castilian heart, and to extract, 
from its present humiliation, the elements of future suc¬ 
cess, as gold is extracted from amidst the impurities of 
earth ; and in this reflection he is supported by the ven¬ 
erable historian Pedro Abarca, of the society of Jesuits.* 

* Abarca. Anales de Aragon , Rey 30, cap. 2, § 7. 


CHAPTER XIY. 


HOW KING BOABDIL EL CHICO MARCHED OYER THE BORDER. 

HE defeat of the Christian cavaliers among the 
mountains of Malaga, and the successful inroad 
of Muley Abul Hassan into the lands of Medina 
Sidonia, had produced a favorable effect on the fortunes 
of the old monarch. The inconstant populace began 
to shout forth his name in the streets, and to sneer at 
the inactivity of his son Boabdil el Chico. The latter, 
though in the flower of his age, and distinguished for 
vigor and dexterity in jousts and tournaments, had never 
yet fleshed his weapon in the field of battle; and it was 
murmured that he preferred the silken repose of the cool 
halls of the Alhambra to the fatigue and danger of the 
foray, and the hard encampments of the mountains. 

The popularity of these rival kings depended upon 
their success against the Christians, and Boabdil el Chi¬ 
co found it necessary to strike some signal blow to coun¬ 
terbalance the late triumph of his father. He was fur¬ 
ther incited by his father-in-law, Ali Atar, alcayde of 
Loxa, with whom the coals of wrath against the Chris¬ 
tians still burned among the ashes of age, and had lately 

123 







MARCH OF BOABDIL. 


129 


been blown into a flame by the attack made by Ferdi¬ 
nand on the city under his command. 

Ali Atar informed Boabdil that the late discomfiture 
of the Christian knights had stripped Andalusia of the 
prime of her chivalry, and broken the spirit of the coun¬ 
try. All the frontier of Cordova and Ecija now lay open 
to inroad; but he especially pointed out the city of Lu- 
cena as an object of attack, being feebly garrisoned, and 
lying in a country rich in pasturage, abounding in cattle 
and grain, in oil and wine. The fiery old Moor spoke 
from thorough information; for he had made many an 
incursion into these parts, and his very name was a ter¬ 
ror throughout the country. It had become a by-word 
in the garrison of Loxa to call Lucena the garden of Ali 
Atar, for he was accustomed to forage its fertile territo¬ 
ries for all his supplies. 

Boabdil el Chico listened to the persuasions of this 
veteran of the borders. He assembled a force of nine 
thousand foot and seven hundred horse, most of them 
his own adherents, but many the partisans of his father; 
for both factions, however they might fight among them¬ 
selves, were ready to unite in any expedition against the 
Christians. Many of the most illustrious and valiant of 
the Moorish nobility assembled round his standard, mag¬ 
nificently arrayed in sumptuous armor and rich embroid¬ 
ery, as though for a festival or a tilt of canes, rather than 
an enterprise of iron war. Boabdil’s mother, the sultana 
Ayxa la Horra, armed him for the field, and gave him her 


130 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


benediction as she girded his scimetar to his side. His 
favorite wife Morayma wept, as she thought of the evils 
that might befall him. “Why dost thou weep, daugh¬ 
ter of Ali Atar?” said the high-minded Ayxa: “these 
tears become not the daughter of a warrior, nor the wife 
of a king. Believe me, there lurks more danger for a 
monarch within the strong walls of a palace than within 
the frail curtains of a tent. It is by perils in the field 
that thy husband must purchase security on his throne.” 

But Morayma still hung upon his neck, with tears and 
sad forebodings; and when he departed from the Alham¬ 
bra, she betook herself to her mirador, overlooking the 
vega, whence she watched the army, as it went, in shin¬ 
ing order, along the road leading to Loxa; and every 
burst of warlike melody that came swelling on the breeze 
was answered by a gush of sorrow. 

As the royal cavalcade issued from the palace and 
descended through the streets of Granada, the populace 
greeted their youthful sovereign with shouts, anticipat¬ 
ing deeds of prowess that would wither the laurels of his 
father. The appearance of Boabdil was well calculated 
to captivate the public eye, if we may judge from the 
description given by the abbot of Bute, in his manu¬ 
script history of the House of Cordova. He was mounted 
on a superb white charger, magnificently caparisoned. 
His corselets were of polished steel, richly ornamented; 
studded with gold nails, and lined with crimson velvet. 
He wore a steel casque, exquisitely chiseled and em- 


MARCH OF BOABDIL. 


131 


bossed; his scimetar and dagger of Damascus were of 
highest temper ; he had a round buckler at his shoulder, 
and bore a ponderous lance. In passing through the 
gate of Elvira, however, he accidentally broke his lance 
against the arch. At this, certain of his nobles turned 
pale, and entreated him to turn back, for they regarded 
it as an evil omen. Boabdil scoffed at their fears as idle 
fancies. He refused to take another spear, but drew 
forth his scimetar, and led the way (adds Agapidia) in an 
arrogant and haughty style, as though he would set both 
heaven and earth at defiance. Another evil omen was 
sent to deter him from his enterprise: arriving at the 
rambla, or dry ravine of Beyro, which is scarcely a bow¬ 
shot from the city, a fox ran through the whole army, 
and close by the person of the king; and, though a 
thousand bolts were discharged at it, escaped uninjured 
to the mountains. The principal courtiers now reiter¬ 
ated their remonstrances against proceeding; the king, 
however, was not to be dismayed by these portents, but 
continued to march forward.* 

At Loxa the army was reinforced by old Ali Atar, 
with the chosen horsemen of his garrison, and many of 
the bravest warriors of the border towns. The people 
of Loxa shouted with exultation when they beheld Ali 
Atar, armed at all points, and mounted on his Barbary 
steed, which had often borne him over the borders. The 

* Marmol. Rebel, de los Moros, lib. 1, c. 12, fol. 14. 


132 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


veteran warrior, with nearly a century of years upon his 
head, had all the fire and animation of youth at the 
prospect of a foray, and careered from rank to rank with 
the velocity of an Arab of the desert. The populace 
watched the army, as it paraded over the bridge, and 
wound into the passes of the mountains; and still their 
eyes were fixed upon the pennon of Ali Atar, as if it bore 
with it an assurance of victory. 

The Moorish army entered the Christian frontier by 
forced marches, hastily ravaging the country, driving off 
the flocks and herds, and making captives of the inhab¬ 
itants. They pressed on furiously, and made the latter 
part of their march in the night, to elude observation, 
and come upon Lucena by surprise. Boabdil was inex¬ 
perienced in warfare, but had a veteran counselor in his 
old father-in-law; for Ali Atar knew every secret of the 
country, and, as he prowled through it, his eye ranged 
over the land, uniting in its glare the craft of the fox 
with the sanguinary ferocity of the wolf. He had flat¬ 
tered himself that their march had been so rapid as to 
outstrip intelligence, and that Lucena would be an easy 
capture; when suddenly he beheld alarm-fires blazing 
upon the mountains. “We are discovered,” said he to 
Boabdil; “ the country will be up in arms ; we have 
nothing left but to strike boldly for Lucena; it is but 
slightly garrisoned, and we may carry it by assault before 
we can receive assistance.” The king approved of his 
counsel, and they marched rapidly for the gate of Lucena. 



CHAPTER XV. 


HOW THE COUNT DE CABRA SALLIED FORTH FROM HIS CASTLE IN QUEST OF 
KING BOABDIL. 



ON DIEGO DE CORDOVA, count of Cabra, 
was in the castle of Vaena, which, with the 
town of the same name, is situated on a lofty, 
sun-burnt hill, on the frontier of the kingdom of Cor¬ 
dova, and but a few leagues from Lucena. The range of 
mountains of Horquera lie between them. The castle of 
Vaena was strong, and well furnished with arms, and the 
count had a numerous band of vassals and retainers ; for 
it behooved the noblemen of the frontiers, in those times, 
to be well prepared with man and horse, with lance and 
buckler, to resist the sudden incursions of the Moors. 
The count of Cabra was a hardy and experienced war¬ 
rior, shrewd in council, prompt in action, rapid and fear¬ 
less in the field. He was one of the bravest of cavaliers 
for an inroad, and had been quickened and sharpened, 
in thought and action, by living on the borders. 

On the night of the 20th of April, 1483, the count was 
about to retire to rest, when the watchman from the tur¬ 
ret brought him word that there were alarm-fires on the 

133 






134 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


mountains of Horquera, and that they were made on the 
signal-tower overhanging the defile through which the 
road passes to Cabra and Lucena. 

The count ascended the battlement, and beheld five 
lights blazing on the tower—a sign that there was a 
Moorish army attacking some place on the frontier. 
The count instantly ordered the alarm-bells to be 
sounded, and dispatched couriers to rouse the com¬ 
manders of the neighboring towns. He called upon his 
retainers to prepare for action, and sent a trumpet 
through the town, summoning the men to assemble at 
the castle-gate at daybreak, armed and equipped for the 
field. 

Throughout the remainder of the night, the castle re¬ 
sounded with the din of preparation. Every house in 
the town was in equal bustle ; for in these frontier towns 
every house had its warrior, and the lance and buckler 
were ever hanging against the wall, ready to be snatched 
down for instant service. Nothing was heard but the din 
of armorers, the shoeing of studs, and furbishing up of 
weapons, and, all night long, the alarm fires kept blazing 
on the mountains. 

When the morning dawned the count of Cabra sallied 
forth, at the head of two hundred and fifty cavaliers, of 
the best families of Yaena, all well appointed, exercised 
in arms, and experienced in the warfare of the borders. 
There were, besides, twelve hundred foot soldiers, brave 
and well-seasoned men of the same town. The count 


BE CABRA PURSUES BOABBIL. 


136 


ordered them to hasten forward, whoever could make 
most speed, taking the road to Cabra, which was three 
leagues distant. That they might not loiter on the road, 
he allowed none of them to break their fast until they 
arrived at that place. The provident count dispatched 
couriers in advance, and the little army, on reaching 
Cabra, found tables spread with food and refreshments, 
at the gates of the town. Here they were joined by Don 
Alonzo de Cordova, senior of Zuheros. 

Having made a hearty repast, they were on the point 
of resuming their march, when the count discovered that, 
in the hurry of his departure from home, he had forgot¬ 
ten to bring the standard of Yaena, which for upwards 
of eighty years had always been borne to battle by his 
family. It was noon, and there was not time to return: 
he took, therefore, the standard of Cabra, the device of 
which is a goat, and which had not been seen in the wars 
for the last half century. When about to depart, a 
courier came galloping at full speed, bringing missives 
to the count from his nephew, Don Diego Fernandez de 
Cordova, senior of Lucena and alcayde de los Donzeles,* 
entreating him to hasten to his aid, as his town was be¬ 
set by the Moorish king, Boabdil el Chico, with a power¬ 
ful army, who were actually setting fire to the gates. 

The count put his little army instantly in movement 
for Lucena, which is only one league from Cabra; he 

* The Donzeles were young cavaliers who had been pages in the> royal 
household, but now formed an elite corps in the army. 




136 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


was fired with the idea of having the Moorish king in 
person to contend with. By the time he reached Lu- 
cena, the Moors had desisted from the attack, and were 
ravaging the surrounding country. He entered the town 
with a few of his cavaliers, and was received with joy by 
his nephew, whose whole force consisted but of eighty 
horse and three hundred foot. Don Diego Fernandez de 
Cordova was a young man, yet he was a prudent, careful, 
and capable officer. Having learnt, the evening before, 
that the Moors had passed the frontiers, he had gathered 
within his walls all the women and children from the 
environs ; had armed the men, sent couriers in all di¬ 
rections for succor, and had lighted alarm-fires on the 
mountains. 

Boabdil had arrived with his army at daybreak, and 
had sent in a message threatening to put the garrison to 
the sword if the place were not instantly surrendered. 
The messenger was a Moor of Granada, named Hamet, 
whom Don Diego had formerly known: he contrived to 
amuse him with negotiation, to gain time for succor to 
arrive. The fierce Ali Atar, losing all patience, had made 
an assault upon the town, and stormed like a fury at the 
gate; but had been repulsed. Another and more serious 
attack was expected in the course of the night. 

When the count de Cabra had heard this account of 
the situation of affairs, he turned to his nephew, with his 
usual alacrity of manner, and proposed that they should 
immediately sally forth in quest of the enemy. The 


BE CABRA'S ARRIVAL AT LUG ENA. 


137 


prudent Don Diego remonstrated at the rashness of at¬ 
tacking so great a force with a mere handful of men. 
“Nephew,” said the count, “I came from Vaena with 
a determination to fight this Moorish king, and I will 
not be disappointed.” 

“At any rate,” replied Don Diego, “let us wait but 
two hours, and we shall have reinforcements which have 
been promised me from Rambla, Santaella, Montilla, 
and other places in the neighborhood.” “If we await 
these,” said the hardy count, “ the Moors will be off, and 
all our trouble will have been in vain. You may await 
them, if you please ; I am resolved on fighting.” 

The count paused for no reply, but, in his prompt and 
rapid manner, sallied forth to his men. The young al- 
cayde de los Donzeles, though more prudent than his 
ardent uncle, was equally brave; he determined to stand 
by him-in his rash enterprise, and, summoning his little 
force, marched forth to join the count, who was already 
on the move. They then proceeded together in quest of 
the enemy. 

The Moorish army had ceased ravaging the country, 
and were not to be seen—the neighborhood being hilly, 
and broken with deep ravines. The count dispatched six 
scouts on horseback to reconnoitre, ordering them to re¬ 
turn with all speed on discovering the enemy, and by no 
means to engage in skirmishing with stragglers. The 
scouts, ascending a high hill, beheld the Moorish army 
in a valley behind it, the cavalry ranged in five battalions 


138 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


keeping guard, while the foot soldiers were seated on the 
grass making a repast. They returned immediately with 
the intelligence. 

The count now ordered the troops to march in the di¬ 
rection of the enemy. He and his nephew ascended the 
hill, and saw that the five battalions of Moorish cavalry 
had been formed into two, one of about nine hundred 
lances, the other of about six hundred. The whole force 
seemed prepared to march for the frontier. The foot 
soldiers were already under way, with many prisoners, 
and a great train of mules and beasts of burden, laden 
with booty. At a distance was Boabdil el Chico: they 
could not distinguish his person, but they knew him by 
his superb black and white charger, magnificently ca¬ 
parisoned, and by his being surrounded by a numerous 
guard, sumptuously armed and attired. Old Ali Atar 
was careering about the valley with his usual impatience, 
hurrying the march of the loitering troops. 

The eyes of the count de Cabra glistened with eager 
joy, as he beheld the royal prize within his reach. The 
immense disparity of their forces never entered into his 
mind. “ By Santiago! ” said he to his nephew, as they 
hastened down the hill, “ had we waited for more forces, 
the Moorish king and his army would have escaped us! ” 

The count now harangued his men, to inspirit them to 
this hazardous encounter. He told them not to be dis¬ 
mayed at the number of the Moors, for God often per¬ 
mitted the few to conquer the many: and he had great 


ATTACK ON THE MOORS . 


139 


confidence, that, through the divine aid, they were that 
day to achieve a signal victory, which should win them 
both riches and renown. He commanded that no man 
should hurl his lance at the enemy, but should keep it in 
his hands, and strike as many blows with it as he could. 
He warned them, also, never to shout except when the 
Moors did; for when both armies shouted together, there 
was no perceiving which made the most noise and was 
the strongest. He desired his uncle Lope de Mendoza, 
and Diego de Cabrera, alcayde of Dona Mencia, to alight 
and enter on foot in the battalion of infantry, to ani¬ 
mate them to the combat. He appointed also the al¬ 
cayde of Vaena and Diego de Clavijo, a cavalier of his 
household, to remain in the rear, and not to permit any 
one to lag behind, either to despoil the dead, or for any 
other purpose. 

Such were the orders given by this most adroit, active, 
and intrepid cavalier, to his little army, supplying by ad¬ 
mirable sagacity and subtile management, the want of a 
more numerous force. His orders being given, and all 
arrangements made, he threw aside his lance, drew his 
sword, and commanded his standard to be advanced 
against the enemy. 


CHAPTER XYL 


TflE BATTLE OF LUCENA. 


HE Moorish king had descried the Spanish 
forces at a distance, although a slight fog pre¬ 
vented his seeing them distinctly, and ascer¬ 
taining their numbers. His old father-in-law, Ali Atar, 
was by his side, who, being a veteran marauder, was well 
acquainted with all the standards and armorial bearings 
of the frontiers. When the king beheld the ancient and 
long-disused banner of Cabra emerging from the mist, he 
turned to Ali Atar, and demanded whose ensign it was. 
The old borderer was for once at a loss, for the banner 
had not been displayed in battle in his time. “In truth,” 
replied he, after a pause, “ I have been considering that 
standard for some time, but I confess, I do not know it. 
It cannot be the ensign of any single commander or com¬ 
munity, for none would venture single-handed to attack 
you. It appears to be a dog, which device is borne by 
the towns of Baeza and Ubeda. If it be so, all Andalusia 
is in movement against you, and I would advise you to 
retire.” 

The count de Cabra, in winding down the hill towards 

140 







THE MOORS DISCOMFITED. 


141 


the Moors, found himself on much lower ground than the 
enemy; he ordered in all haste that his standard should 
be taken back, so as to gain the vantage ground. The 
Moors, mistaking this for a retreat, rushed impetuously 
towards the Christians. The latter having gained the 
height proposed, charged upon them at the same mo¬ 
ment, with the battle-cry of “ Santiago! ” and dealing the 
first blows, laid many of the Moorish cavaliers in the 
dust. 

The Moors, thus checked in their tumultuous assault* 
were thrown into confusion, and began to give way, the 
Christians following hard upon them. Boabdil el Chico 
endeavored to rally them. “ Hold ! hold ! for shame ! ” 
cried he; “ let us not fly, at least until we know our 
enemy.” The Moorish chivalry were stung by this re¬ 
proof, and turned to make front, with the valor of men 
who feel that they are fighting under their monarch’s 
eye. 

At this moment, Lorenzo de Porres, alcayde of Luque, 
arrived with fifty horse and one hundred foot, sounding 
an Italian trumpet from among a copse of oak trees, 
which concealed his force. The quick ear of old Ali 
Atar caught the note. “ That is an Italian trumpet,” 
said he to the king; “ the whole world seems in arms 
against your highness! ” 

The trumpet of Lorenzo de Porres was answered by 
that of the count de Cabra, in another direction, and it 
seemed to the Moors as if they were between two armies. 


142 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA 


Don Lorenzo, sallying from among the oaks, now charged 
upon the enemy: the latter did not wait to ascertain 
the force of this new foe ; the confusion, the variety of 
alarms, the attacks from opposite quarters, the obscurity 
of the fog, all conspired to deceive them as to the num¬ 
ber of their adversaries. Broken and dismayed, they 
retreated fighting; and nothing but the presence and 
remonstrances of the king prevented their retreat from 
becoming a headlong flight. If Boabdil had displayed 
little of the talents of a general in the outset of his enter¬ 
prise, he manifested courage and presence of mind amid 
the disasters of its close. Seconded by a small body of 
cavalry, the choicest and most loyal of his guards, he 
made repeated stand against the press of the foe, in a 
skirmishing retreat of about three leagues; and the way 
was strewn with the flower of his chivalry. At length, 
they came to the brook of Martin Gonzales, or Mingo- 
zales, as it is called by the Moorish chroniclers; which, 
swollen by recent rain, was now a deep and turbid tor¬ 
rent. Here a scene of confusion ensued. Horse and 
foot precipitated themselves into the stream. Some of 
the horses stuck fast in the mire and blocked up the 
ford; others trampled down the foot-soldiers; many were 
drowned and more carried down the stream. Such of 
the foot-soldiers as gained the opposite side, immedi¬ 
ately took to flight; the horsemen, too, who had strug¬ 
gled through the stream, gave reins to their steeds and 
Scoured for the frontier. 


CAPTURE OF BOABDIL. 


143 


The little band of devoted cavaliers about the king 
serried their forces, to keep the enemy in check, fighting 
with them hand to hand, until he should have time to 
cross. In the tumult, his horse was shot down, and he 
became environed in the throng of foot-soldiers, strug¬ 
gling forward to the ford, and in peril from the lances of 
their pursuers. Conscious that his rich array made him 
a conspicuous object, he retreated along the bank of the 
river, and endeavored to conceal himself in a thicket of 
willows and tamarisks. Thence, looking back, he beheld 
his loyal band at length give way, supposing, no doubt, 
he had effected his escape. They crossed the ford, fol¬ 
lowed pell-mell by the enemy, and several of them were 
struck down in the stream. 

While Boabdil was meditating to throw himself into 
the water, and endeavor to swim across, he was discov¬ 
ered by Martin Hurtado, regidor of Lucena, a brave cav¬ 
alier, who had been captive in the prisons of Granada, 
and exchanged for a Christian knight. Hurtado attacked 
the king with a pike, but was kept at bay; until seeing 
other soldiers approaching, Boabdil cried for quarters; 
proclaiming himself a person of high rank, who would 
pay a noble ransom. At this moment came up several 
men of Yaena, of the troop of the count de Cabra. Hear¬ 
ing the talk of ransom and noticing the splendid attire of 
the Moor, they endeavored to secure for themselves so 
rich a prize. One of them seized hold of Boabdil, but 
the latter resented the indignity, by striking him to the 


144 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


earth with a blow of his poniard. Others of Hurtado’s 
townsmen coming up, a contest arose between the men of 
Lucena and Yaena, as to who had a right to the prisoner. 
The noise brought Don Diego Fernandez de Cordova to 
the spot, who, by his authority, put an end to the alter¬ 
cation. Boabdil, finding himself unknown by all present, 
concealed his quality, giving himself out as the son of 
Aben Alnayer, a cavalier of the royal household.* Don 
Diego treated him with great courtesy; put a red band 
round his neck in sign of his being a captive, and sent 
him under an escort to the castle of Lucena, where his 
quality would be ascertained, his ransom arranged, and 
the question settled as to who had made him prisoner. 

This done, the count put spurs to his horse, and has¬ 
tened to rejoin the count de Cabra, who was in hot pur¬ 
suit of the enemy. He overtook him at a stream called 
Reanaul; and they continued together to press on the 
skirts of the flying army during the remainder of the day. 
The pursuit was almost as hazardous as the battle ; for, 
had the enemy at any time recovered from their panic, 
they might, by a sudden reaction, have overwhelmed the 
small force of their pursuers. To guard against this 
peril, the wary count kept his battalion always in close 
order, and had a body of a hundred chosen lancers in the 
advance. The Moors kept up a Parthian retreat; several 
times they turned to make battle ; but, seeing this solid 


Garibay, lib. 40, cap. 31. 


RETREAT OF THE MOORS . 


145 


body of steeled warriors pressing upon them, they again 
took to flight. 

The main retreat of the army was along the valley 
watered by the Xenil, and opening through the moun¬ 
tains of Algaringo to the city of Loxa. The alarm-fires 
of the preceding night had aroused the country; every 
man snatched sword and buckler from the wall, and the 
towns and villages poured forth their warriors to harass 
the retreating foe. Ali Atar kept the main force of the 
army together, and turned fiercely from time to time 
upon his pursuers ; he was like a wolf, hunted through the 
country he had often made desolate by his maraudings. 

The alarm of this invasion had reached the city of 
Antiquera, where were several of the cavaliers who had 
escaped from the carnage in the mountains of Malaga 
Their proud minds were festering with their late dis> 
grace, and their only prayer was for vengeance on the 
infidels. No sooner did they hear of the Moor being 
over the border, than they were armed and mounted for 
action. Don Alonzo de Aguilar led them forth ;—a small 
body of but forty horsemen, but all cavaliers of prowess, 
and thirsting for revenge. They came upon the foe on 
the banks of the Xenil, where it winds through the val¬ 
leys of Cordova. The river, swelled by the late rains, 
was deep and turbulent, and only fordable at certain 
places. The main body of the army was gathered in 
confusion on the banks, endeavoring to ford the stream, 
protected by the cavalry of Ali Atar. 

10 


146 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


No sooner did the little band of Alonzo de Aguilar 
come in sight of the Moors, than fury flashed from their 
eyes. “ Remember the mountains of Malaga! ” cried 
they to each other, as they rushed to combat. Their 
charge was desperate, but was gallantly resisted. A 
scrambling and bloody fight ensued, hand to hand and 
sword to sword, sometimes on land, sometimes in the 
water. Many were lanced on the banks ; others, throw¬ 
ing themselves into the river, sank with the weight of 
their armor, and were drowned; some, grappling to¬ 
gether, fell from their horses, but continued their strug¬ 
gle in the waves, and helm and turban rolled together 
down the stream. The Moors were far greater in num¬ 
ber, and among them were many warriors of rank; but 
they were disheartened by defeat, while the Christians 
were excited even to desperation. 

Ali Atar alone preserved all his fire and energy, amid 
his reverses. He had been enraged at the defeat of the 
army, and the ignominious flight he had been obliged to 
make through a country which had so often been the 
scene of his exploits; but to be thus impeded in his 
flight, and harassed and insulted by a mere handful of 
warriors, roused the violent passions of the old Moor to 
perfect frenzy. He had marked Don Alonzo de Aguilar 
dealing his blows (says Agapida), with the pious vehe¬ 
mence of a righteous knight, who knows that in every 
wound inflicted upon the infidels, he is doing God ser¬ 
vice. Ali Atar spurred his steed along the bank of the 


DEATH OF AL1 A TAB. 


147 


river, to come upon Don Alonzo by surprise. The back 
of the warrior was toward him; and, collecting all his 
force, the Moor hurled his lance to transfix him on the 
spot. The lance was not thrown with the usual accuracy 
of Ali Atar: it tore away a part of the cuirass of Don 
Alonzo, but failed to inflict a wound. The Moor rushed 
upon Don Alonzo with his scimetar; but the latter was 
on the alert, and parried his blow. They fought desper¬ 
ately upon the borders of the river, alternately pressing 
each other into the stream, and fighting their way again 
up the bank. Ali Atar was repeatedly wounded; and 
Don Alonzo, having pity on his age, would have spared 
his life: he called upon him to surrender. “ Never,” 
cried Ali Atar, “ to a Christian dog! ” The words were 
scarce out of his mouth, when the sword of Don Alonzo 
clove his turbaned head, and sank deep into the brain. 
He fell dead without a groan; his body rolled into the 
Xenil, nor was it ever found nor recognized.* Thus fell 
Ali Atar, who had long been the terror of Andalusia. 
As he had hated and warred upon the Christians all his 
life, so he died in the very act of bitter hostility. 

The fall of Ali Atar put an end to the transient stand 
of the cavalry. Horse and foot mingled together, in the 
desperate struggle across the Xenil; and many were 
trampled down and perished beneath the waves. Don 
Alonzo and his band continued to harass them until they 


* Gura de los Palacios , 


148 


CONQUEST OF OB AN AD A. 


crossed the frontier; and every blow struck home to the 
Moors seemed to lighten the load of humiliation and sor¬ 
row which had weighed heavy on their hearts. 

In this disastrous rout, the Moors lost upwards of five 
thousand killed and made prisoners; many of whom 
were of the most noble lineages of Granada: numbers 
fled to rocks and mountains, where they were subse¬ 
quently taken. 

Boabdil remained a prisoner in the state tower of the 
citadel of Lucena, under the vigilance of Alonzo de Ru- 
eda, esquire of the alcayde of the Donzeles; his quality 
was still unknown,. until the 24th of April, three days 
after the battle. On that day some prisoners, natives of 
Granada, just brought in, caught sight of the unfortunate 
Boabdil, despoiled of his royal robes. Throwing them¬ 
selves at his feet, they broke forth in loud lamentations; 
apostrophizing him as their lord and king. 

Great was the astonishment and triumph of the count 
de Cabra and Don Diego Fernandez de Cordova on learn¬ 
ing the rank of the supposed cavalier. They both as¬ 
cended to the castle to see that he was lodged in a style 
befitting his quality. When the good count beheld, in 
the dejected captive before him, the monarch who had so 
recently appeared in royal splendor, surrounded by an 
army, his generous heart was touched by sympathy. He 
said everything to comfort him that became a courteous 
and Christian knight, observing that the same mutability 
of things which had suddenly brought him low, might as 


TROPHIES OF VICTORY. 


149 


rapidly restore him to prosperity, since in this world 
nothing is stable, and sorrow, like joy, has its allotted 
term. 

The action here recorded was called by some the battle 
of Lncena, by others the battle of the Moorish king, be¬ 
cause of the capture of Boabdil. Twenty-two banners, 
taken on the occasion, were borne in triumph into Yaena 
on the 23d of April, St. George’s day, and hung up in the 
church. There they remain (says a historian of after 
times) to this day. Once a year, on the festival of St. 
George, they are borne about in procession by the in¬ 
habitants, who, at the same time, give thanks to God for 
this signal victory granted to their forefathers.* 

* Several circumstances relative to the capture of Boabdil vary in this 
from the first edition, in consequence of later light thrown on the subject 
by Don Miguel Lafuente Alcantara in his history of Granada. He has 
availed himself much of various ancient documents relative to the battle, 
especially the history of the House of Cordova, by the Abbot of Rute, a 
descendant of that family; a rare manuscript, of which few copies exist. 

The question as to the person entitled to the honor and reward for hav¬ 
ing captured the king, long continued a matter of dispute between the 
people of Lucena and Vaena. On the 20th of October, 1520, about thirty- 
seven years after the event, an examination of several witnesses to the 
fact took place before the chief justice of the fortress of Lucena, at the 
instance of Bartolomy Hurtado, the son of Martin, when the claim of his 
father was established by Dona Lenora Hernandez, lady in attendant on 
the mother of the alcayde of los Donzeles, who testified being present 
when Boabdil signalized Martin Hurtado as his captor. 

The chief honor of the day, and of course of the defeat and capture of 
the Moorish monarch, was given by the sovereign to the count de Cabra: 
the second to his nephew, Don Diego Fernandez de Cordova. 

Among the curious papers cited by Alcantara, is one existing in the 
archives of the House of Medina Celi, giving the account of the treasurer 


150 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


of Don Diego Fernandez, as to the sums expended by his lord in the cap¬ 
ture of the king; the reward given to some soldiers for a standard of the 
king’s which they had taken; to others for wounds they had received, etc. 

Another paper speaks of an auction at Lucena on the 28th of April, of 
horses and mules taken in the battle. Another paper states the gratuities 
of the alcayde of los Donzeles to the soldiery—four fanegas, or about four 
hundred weight of wheat and a lance to each horseman, two fanegas of 
wheat and a lance to each foot-soldier. 


CHAPTER XYII. 


LAMENTATIONS OF THE MOORS FOR THE BATTLE OF LUCENA. 

sentinels looked ont from the watch-towers 
Loxa, along the valley of the Xenil, which 
sses through the mountains of Algaringo. 
They looked to behold the king returning in triumph, at 
the head of his shining host, laden with the spoil of the 
unbeliever. They looked to behold the standard of their 
warlike idol, the fierce Ali Atar, borne by the chivalry of 
Loxa, ever foremost in the wars of the border. 

In the evening of the 21st of April, they descried a 
single horseman urging his faltering steed along the 
banks of the Xenil. As he drew near, they perceived, by 
the flash of arms, that he was a warrior; and on nearer 
approach, by the richness of his armor and the caparison 
of his steed, they knew him to be a warrior of rank. 

He reached Loxa, faint and aghast; his courser cov¬ 
ered with foam, and dust, and blood, panting and stag¬ 
gering with fatigue, and gashed with wounds. Having 
brought his master in safety, he sank down and died be¬ 
fore the gate of the city. The soldiers at the gate gath¬ 
ered round the cavalier, as he stood by his expiring 





152 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


steed; they knew him to be Cidi Caleb, nephew of the 
chief alfaqui of the mosque in the Albaycin, and their 
hearts were filled with fearful forebodings. 

“Cavalier,” said they, “how fares it with the king and 
army?” 

He cast his hand mournfully towards the land of the 
Christians. “ There they lie! exclaimed he. “ The 
Heavens have fallen upon them. All are lost! all 
dead!”* 

Upon this, there was a great cry of consternation 
among the people, and loud wailings of women: for the 
flower of the youth of Loxa were with the army. 

An old Moorish soldier, scarred in many a border bat¬ 
tle, stood leaning on his lance by the gateway. “Where 
is Ali Atar?” demanded he eagerly. “If he lives, the 
army cannot be lost.” 

“I saw his helm cleft by the Christian sword; his 
body is floating in the Xenil.” 

When the soldier heard these words, he smote his 
breast and threw dust upon his head; for he was an old 
follower of Ali Atar. 

Cidi Caleb gave himself no repose, but, mounting an¬ 
other steed, hastened towards Granada. As he passed 
through the villages and hamlets, he spread sorrow 
around; for their chosen men had followed the king to 
the wars. 

* Bemaldez (Cura de los Palacios ) Hist, de los Reyes Catol., MS. 
cap. 61 . 


A HERALD OF DEFEAT. 


153 


When he entered the gates of Granada, and announced 
the loss of the king and army, a voice of horror went 
throughout the city. Every one thought but of his own 
share in the general calamity, and crowded round the 
bearer of ill tidings. One asked after a father, another 
after a brother, some after a lover, and many a mother 
after her son. His replies all spoke of wounds and 
death. To one he replied, “I saw thy father pierced 
with a lance, as he defended the person of the king.” To 
another, “ Thy brother fell wounded under the hoofs of 
the horses; but there was no time to aid him, for the 
Christian cavalry were upon us.” To another, “I saw 
the horse of thy lover, covered with blood and galloping 
without his rider.” To another, “Thy son fought by my 
side, on the banks of the Xenil: we were surrounded by 
the enemy, and driven into the stream. I heard him cry 
upon Allah, in the midst of the waters: when I reached 
the other bank, he was no longer by my side.” 

Cidi Caleb passed on, leaving all Granada in lamenta¬ 
tion ; he urged his steed up the steep avenue of trees and 
fountains that leads to the Alhambra, nor stopped until 
he arrived before the gate of Justice. Ayxa, the mother 
of Boabdil, and Morayma, his beloved and tender wife, 
had daily watched from the tower of Gomeres, to behold 
his triumphant return. Who shall describe their afflic¬ 
tion, when they heard the tidings of Cidi Caleb ? The 
sultana Ayxa spake not much, but sat as one entranced. 
Every now and then, a deep sigh burst forth, but she 


154 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA . 


raised her eyes to Heaven: “ It is the will of Allah ! 9 
said she, and with these words endeavored to repress the 
agonies of a mother’s sorrow. The tender Morayma 
threw herself on the earth, and gave way to the full tur¬ 
bulence of her feelings, bewailing her husband and her 
father. The high-minded Ayxa rebuked the violence of 
her grief: “ Moderate these transports, my daughter,’" 
said she; “ remember magnanimity should be the attri¬ 
bute of princes ; it becomes not them to give way to 
clamorous sorrow, like common and vulgar minds.” 
But Moray ma could only deplore her loss, with the an¬ 
guish of a tender woman. She shut herself up in her 
mirador, and gazed all day, with streaming eyes, upon 
the vega. Every object recalled the causes of her afflic¬ 
tion. The river Xenil, which ran shining amidst groves 
and gardens, was the same on whose banks had perished 
her father, Ali Atar; before her lay the road to Loxa, 
by which Boabdil had departed, in martial state, sur¬ 
rounded by the chivalry of Granada. Ever and anon, 
she would burst into an agony of grief. “ Alas! my 
father! ” she would exclaim ; “ the river runs smiling 
before me, that covers thy mangled remains ; who will 
gather them to an honored tomb, in the land of the un¬ 
believer ? And thou, O Boabdil, light of my eyes ! joy 
of my heart! life of my life ! woe the day, and woe the 
hour, that I saw thee depart from these walls. The road 
by which thou hast departed is solitary; never will it 
be gladdened by thy return! the mountain thou hast 


SONGS OF LAMENTATION. 


155 


traversed lies like a cloud in the distance, and all beyond 
is darkness.” 

The royal minstrels were summoned to assuage her 
sorrows; they attuned their instruments to cheerful 
strains; but in a little while the anguish of their hearts 
prevailed, and turned their songs to lamentations. 

“ Beautiful Granada! ” exclaimed they, “ how is thy - 
glory faded! The flower of thy chivalry lies low in the 
land of the stranger; no longer does the Yivarrambla 
echo to the tramp of steed and sound of trumpet; no 
longer is it crowded with thy youthful nobles, gloriously 
arrayed for the tilt and tourney. Beautiful Granada! 
the soft note of the lute no longer floats through thy 
moonlit streets; the serenade is no more heard beneath 
thy balconies; the lively castanet is silent upon thy 
hills; the graceful dance of the Zambra is no more seen 
beneath thy bowers! Beautiful Granada! why is the 
Alhambra so lorn and desolate ! The orange and myrtle 
still breathe their perfumes into its silken chambers; the 
nightingale still sings within its groves; its marble halls 
are still refreshed with the plash of fountains and the 
gush of limpid rills. Alas! alas! the countenance of the 
king no longer shines within those halls. The light of 
the Alhambra is set forever ! ” 

Thus all Granada, say the Arabian chroniclers, gave 
itself up to lamentation; there was nothing but the voice 
of wailing, from the palace to the cottage. All joined to 
deplore their youthful monarch, cut down in the fresh- 


156 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


ness and promise of his youth; many feared that the 
prediction of the astrologers was about to be fulfilled, 
and that the downfall of the kingdom would follow the 
death of Boabdil; while all declared, that had he sur¬ 
vived, he was the very sovereign calculated to restore the 
realm to its ancient prosperity and glory. 



CHAPTER XVHI. 


HOW MOTLEY ABUL HASSAN PROFITED BY THE MISFORTUNES OF HIS SON 
BOABDIL. 

N unfortunate death atones, with the world, for 
a multitude of errors. While the populace 
thought their youthful monarch had perished 
in the field, nothing could exceed their grief for his loss, 
and their adoration of his memory: when, however, they 
learnt that he was still alive, and had surrendered him¬ 
self captive to the Christians, their feelings underwent 
an instant change. They decried his talents as a com¬ 
mander, his courage as a soldier; they railed at his ex¬ 
pedition, as rash and ill-conducted; and they reviled him 
for not having dared to die on the field of battle, rather 
than surrender to the enemy. 

The alfaquis, as usual, mingled with the populace, and 
artfully guided their discontents. “Behold,” exclaimed 
they, “the prediction is accomplished, which was pro¬ 
nounced at the birth of Boabdil. He has been seated on 
the throne, and the kingdom has suffered downfall and 
disgrace by his defeat and captivity. Comfort your¬ 
selves, O Moslems! The evil day has passed by; the 

157 






158 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


prophecy is fulfilled-: the sceptre which has been broken 
in the feeble hand of Boabdil, is destined to resume its 
former sway in the vigorous grasp of Abul Hassan.” 

The people were struck with the wisdom of these 
words : they rejoiced that the baleful prediction, which 
had so long hung over them, was at an end; and de¬ 
clared, that none but Muley Abul Hassan had the valor 
and capacity necessary for the protection of the kingdom, 
in this time of trouble. 

The longer the captivity of Boabdil continued, the 
greater grew the popularity of his father. One city after 
another renewed allegiance to him ; for power attracts 
power, and fortune creates fortune. At length he was 
enabled to return to Granada, and establish himself once 
more in the Alhambra. At his approach, his repudiated 
spouse, the sultana Ayxa, gathered together the family 
and treasures of her captive son, and retired, with a 
handful of the nobles, into the Albaycin, the rival quar¬ 
ter of the city, the inhabitants of which still retained 
feelings of loyalty to Boabdil. Here she fortified herself, 
and held the semblance of a court in the name of her 
son. The fierce Muley Abul Hassan would have willing¬ 
ly carried fire and sword into this factious quarter of the 
capital; but he dared not confide in his new and uncer¬ 
tain popularity. Many of the nobles detested him for his 
past cruelty; and a large portion of the soldiery, besides 
many of the people of his own party, respected the virtues 
of Ayxa la Horra, and pitied the misfortunes of Boabdil. 


THE SOVEREIGNS OF GRANADA. 


159 


Granada therefore presented the singular spectacle of 
two sovereignties within the same city. The old king 
fortified himself in the lofty towers of the Alhambra, as 
much against his own subjects as against the Christians ; 
while Ayxa, with the zeal of a mother’s affection, which 
waxes warmer and warmer towards her offspring when in 
adversity, still maintained the standard of Boabdil on the 
rival fortress of the Alcazaba, and kept his powerful 
faction alive within the walls of the Albaycin. 


CHAPTER XIX. 


CAPTIVITY OF BOABDIL EL CHICO. 



HE unfortunate Boabdil remained a prisoner 
closely guarded, but treated with great defer¬ 
ence and respect, in the castle of Lucena, 
where the noblest apartments were appointed for his 
abode. From the towers of his prison, he beheld the 
town below filled with armed men ; and the lofty hill on 
which it was built, girdled by massive walls and ram¬ 
parts, on which a vigilant watch was maintained night 
and day. The mountains around were studded with 
watch-towers, overlooking the lonely roads which led to 
Granada, so that a turban could not stir over the border 
without the alarm being given, and the whole country 
put on the alert. Boabdil saw that there was no hope of 
escape from such a fortress, and that any attempt to res¬ 
cue him would be equally in vain. His heart was filled 
with anxiety, as he thought on the confusion and ruin 
which his captivity must cause in his affairs; while 
sorrows of a softer kind overcame his fortitude, as he 
thought on the evils it might bring upon his family. 

A few days only had passed away, when missives 

160 






CAPTIVITY OF BOABDIL. 


161 


arrived from the Castilian sovereigns. Ferdinand had 
been transported with joy at hearing of the capture of 
the Moorish monarch, seeing the deep and politic uses 
that might be made of such an event; but the magnani¬ 
mous spirit of Isabella was filled with compassion for the 
unfortunate captive. Their messages to Boabdil were 
full of sympathy and consolation, breathing that high 
and gentle courtesy which dwells in noble minds. 

This magnanimity in his foe cheered the dejected spirit 
of the captive monarch. “Tell my sovereigns, the king 
and queen,” said he to the messenger, “ that I cannot be 
unhappy, being in the power of such high and mighty 
princes, especially since they partake so largely of that 
grace and goodness which Allah bestows upon the mon- 
archs whom he greatly loves. Tell them further, that I 
had long thought of submitting myself to their sway, to 
receive the kingdom of Granada from their hands, in the 
same manner that my ancestor received it from king 
John II., father to the gracious queen. My greatest sor¬ 
row, in this my captivity, is, that I must appear to do 
that from force, which I would fain have done from in¬ 
clination.” 

In the meantime, Muley Abul Hassan, finding the fac¬ 
tion of his son still formidable in Granada, was anxious 
to consolidate his power, by gaining possession of the 
person of Boabdil. For this purpose he sent an embassy 
to the Catholic monarchs, offering large terms for the 
ransom, or rather the purchase of his son; proposing, 
11 


162 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


among other conditions, to release the count of Cifuentes 
and nine other of his most distinguished captives, and to 
enter into a treaty of confederacy with the sovereigns. 
Neither did the implacable father make any scruple of 
testifying his indifference whether his son were delivered 
up alive or dead, so that his person were placed assur¬ 
edly within his power. 

The humane heart of Isabella revolted at the idea of 
giving up the unfortunate prince into the hands of his 
most unnatural and inveterate enemy; a disdainful re¬ 
fusal was therefore returned to the old monarch, whose 
message had been couched in a vaunting spirit. He was 
informed that the Castilian sovereigns would listen to no 
proposals of peace from Muley Abul Hassan, until he 
should lay down his arms, and offer them in all humility. 

Overtures in a different spirit were made by the 
mother of Boabdil, the sultana Ayxa la Horra, with the 
concurrence of the party which still remained faithful to 
him. It was thereby proposed, that Mahomet Abdallah, 
otherwise called Boabdil, should hold his crown as vas¬ 
sal to the Castilian sovereigns, paying an annual tribute, 
and releasing seventy Christian captives annually, for 
five years; that he should, moreover, pay a large sum, 
upon the spot, for his ransom, and at the same time give 
freedom to four hundred Christians to be chosen by the 
king: that he should also engage to be always ready to 
render military aid, and should come to the Cortes, or 
assemblage of nobles and distinguished vassals of the 


BOABDIL TAKEN TO CORDOVA. 


163 


crown, whenever summoned. His only son, and the sons 
of twelve distinguished Moorish houses, were to be de¬ 
livered as hostages. 

An embassy, composed of the alcayde Aben Comixa, 
Muley the royal standard-bearer, and other distinguished 
cavaliers, bore this proposition to the Spanish Court at 
Cordova, where they were received by King Ferdinand. 
Queen Isabella was absent at the time. He was anxious 
to consult her in so momentous an affair; or rather, he 
was fearful of proceeding too precipitately, and not draw^ 
ing from this fortunate event all the advantage of which 
it was susceptible. Without returning any reply, there¬ 
fore, to the mission, he ordered that the captive monarch 
should be brought to Cordova. 

The alcayde of the Donzeles was the bearer of this 
mandate, and summoned all the hidalgos of Lucena and 
of his own estates, to form an honorable escort for the 
illustrious prisoner. In this style he conducted him to 
the capital. The cavaliers and authorities of Cordova 
came forth to receive the captive king with all due cere¬ 
mony ; and especial care was taken to prevent any taunt 
or insult from the multitude, or anything that might 
remind him of his humiliation. In this way he entered 
the once proud capital of the Abda’rahmans, and was 
lodged in the house of the king’s major-domo. Ferdi¬ 
nand, however, declined seeing the Moorish monarch. 
He was still undetermined what course to pursue,—* 
whether to retain him prisoner, set him at liberty on 


164 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


ransom, or treat liim with politic magnanimity; and 
each course would require a different kind of reception. 
Until this point should he resolved, therefore, he gave 
him in charge to Martin de Alarcon, alcayde of the an¬ 
cient fortress of Porcuna, with orders to guard him 
strictly, but to treat him with the distinction and defer¬ 
ence due unto a prince. These commands were strictly 
obeyed; he was escorted, as before, in royal state, to the 
fortress which was to form his prison; and, with the 
exception of being restrained in his liberty, was as nobly 
entertained there as he could have been in his regal 
palace at Granada. 

In the meantime, Ferdinand availed himself of this 
critical moment, while Granada was distracted with fac¬ 
tions and dissensions, and before he had concluded any 
treaty with Boabdil, to make a puissant and ostentatious 
inroad into the very heart of the kingdom, at the head 
of his most illustrious nobles. He sacked and destroyed 
seyeral towns and castles, and extended his ravages to 
the very gates of Granada. Muley Abul Hassan did not 
venture to oppose him. His city was filled with troops, 
but he was uncertain of their affection. He dreaded 
that, should he sally forth, the gates of Granada might 
be closed against him by the faction of the Albaycin. 

The old Moor stood on the lofty tower of the Alham¬ 
bra (says Antonio Agapida), grinding his teeth, and foam¬ 
ing like a tiger shut up in his cage, as he beheld the glit¬ 
tering battalions of the Christians wheeling about the 


FERDINAND RAVAGES GRANADA. 


165 


vega, and the standard of the cross shining forth from 
among the smoke of infidel villages and hamlets. The 
most Catholic king (continues Agapida) would gladly 
have continued this righteous ravage, but his munitions 
began to fail. Satisfied, therefore, with having laid waste 
the country of the enemy, and insulted Muley Abul Has- 
san in his very capital, he returned to Cordova covered 
with laurels, and his army laden with spoils; and now 
bethought himself of coming to an immediate decision, in 
regard to his royal prisoner. 


CHAPTER XX. 


OP THE TREATMENT OF BOABDEL BY THE CASTILIAN SOVEREIGNS. 

STATELY convention was held by King Ferdi¬ 
nand in the ancient city of Cordova, composed 
of several of the most reverend prelates and 
renowned cavaliers of the kingdom, to determine upon 
the fate of the unfortunate Boabdil. 

Don Alonzo de Cardenas, the worthy master of Santi¬ 
ago, was one of the first who gave his counsel. He was 
a pious and zealous knight, rigid in his devotion to 
the faith; and his holy zeal had been inflamed to pecu¬ 
liar vehemence, since his disastrous crusade among the 
mountains of Malaga. He inveighed with ardor against 
any compromise or compact with the infidels; the object 
of this war, he observed, was not the subjection of the 
Moors, but their utter expulsion from the land; so that 
there might no longer remain a single stain of Mohamme¬ 
danism throughout Christian Spain. He gave it as his 
opinion, therefore, that the captive king ought not to be 
set at liberty. 

Koderigo Ponce de Leon, marques of Cadiz, on the 

contrary, spoke warmly for the release of Boabdil. He 

1G6 






TREATMENT OF BOABDIL. 


167 


pronounced it a measure of sound policy, even if done 
without conditions. It would tend to keep up the civil 
war in Granada, which was as a fire consuming the en¬ 
trails of the enemy, and effecting more for the interests 
of Spain, without expense, than all the conquests of its 
arms. 

The grand cardinal of Spain, Don Pedro Gonzalez de 
Mendoza, coincided in opinion with the marques of 
Cadiz. Nay (added that pious prelate and politic states¬ 
man/, it would be sound wisdom to furnish the Moor 
with men and money, and all other necessaries, to pro¬ 
mote the civil war in Granada: by this means would be 
produced great benefit to the service of God, since we 
are assured by his infallible word, that “ a kingdom 
divided against itself cannot stand.” * 

Ferdinand weighed these counsels in his mind, but 
was slow in coming to a decision; he was religiously 
attentive to his own interests (observes Fray Antonio 
Agapida), knowing himself to be but an instrument of 
Providence in this holy war, and that, therefore, in con¬ 
sulting his own advantage he was promoting the interests 
of the faith. The opinion of queen Isabella relieved him 
from his perplexity. That high-minded princess was 
zealous for the promotion of the faith, but not for the ex¬ 
termination of the infidels. The Moorish kings had held 
their thrones as vassals to her progenitors; she was con- 


Salazar. Cronica del Gran Cardinal, p. 188. 


168 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA, 


tent at present to accord the same privilege, and that the 
royal prisoner should be liberated on condition of be¬ 
coming a vassal to the crown. By this means might be 
effected the deliverance of many Christian captives, who 
were languishing in Moorish chains. 

King Ferdinand adopted the magnanimous measure 
recommended by the queen ; but he accompanied it with 
several shrewd conditions; exacting tribute, military ser¬ 
vices, and safe passages and maintenance for Christian 
troops, throughout the places which should adhere to 
Boabdil. The captive king readily submitted to these 
stipulations, and swore, after the manner of his faith, to 
observe them with exactitude. A truce was arranged for 
two years, during which the Castilian sovereigns engaged 
to maintain him on his throne, and to assist him in re¬ 
covering all places which he had lost during his captivity. 

When Boabdil el Chico had solemnly agreed to this 
arrangement, in the castle of Porcuna, preparations were 
made to receive him in Cordova in regal style. Superb 
steeds richly caparisoned, and raiments of brocade, and 
silk, and the most costly cloths, with all other articles of 
sumptuous array, were furnished to him and to fifty 
Moorish cavaliers, who had come to treat for his ransom, 
that he might appear in state befitting the monarch of 
Granada, and the most distinguished vassal of the Cas¬ 
tilian sovereigns. Money was also advanced to maintain 
him in suitable grandeur, during his residence at the Cas¬ 
tilian court, and hi§ return to his dominions. Finally, 


BOABDIL A VASSAL. 


169 


it was ordered by the sovereigns, that when he came to 
Cordova, all the nobles and dignitaries of the court 
should go forth to receive him. 

A question now arose among certain of those ancient 
and experienced men, who grow gray about a court in 
the profound study of forms and ceremonials, with whom 
a point of punctilio is as a vast political right, and who 
contract a sublime and awful idea of the external dignity 
of the throne. Certain of these court sages propounded 
the momentous question, whether the Moorish monarch, 
coming to do homage as a vassal, ought not to kneel 
and kiss the hand of the king. This was immediately 
decided in the affirmative, by a large number of ancient 
cavaliers, accustomed (says Antonio Agapida) to the lofty 
punctilio of our most dignified court and transcendent 
sovereigns. The king, therefore, was informed by those 
who arranged the ceremonials, that when the Moorish 
king appeared in his presence, he was expected to extend 
his royal hand to receive the kiss of homage. 

“I should certainly do so,” replied king Ferdinand, 
“ were he at liberty, and in his own kingdom; but I cer¬ 
tainly shall not do so, seeing that he is a prisoner and in 
mine.” 

The courtiers loudly applauded the magnanimity of 
this reply; though many condemned it in secret, as sa¬ 
voring of too much generosity towards an infidel; and 
the worthy Jesuit, Fray Antonio Agapida, fully concurs 
in their opinion. 


170 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


The Moorish king entered Cordova with his little train 
of faithful knights, and escorted by all the nobility and 
chivalry of the Castilian court. He was conducted, with 
great state and ceremony, to the royal palace. When he 
came in presence of Ferdinand, he knelt and offered to 
kiss his hand, not merely in homage as his subject, but 
in gratitude for his liberty. Ferdinand declined the 
token of vassalage, and raised him graciously from the 
earth. An interpreter began, in the name of Boabdil, 
to laud the magnanimity of the Castilian monarch, and 
to promise the most implicit submission. “Enough,” 
said king Ferdinand, interrupting the interpreter in the 
midst of his harangue : “ there is no need of these com¬ 
pliments. I trust in his integrity, that he will do every¬ 
thing becoming a good man and a good king.” With 
these words he received Boabdil el Chico into his royal 
friendship and protection. 




CHAPTER XXL 

Return of boabdil from captivity. 

N the month of August, a noble Moor, of the 
race of the Abencerrages, arrived with a splen¬ 
did retinue at the city of Cordova, bringing 
with him the son of Boabdil el Chico, and other of the 
noble youth of Granada, as hostages for the fulfillment of 
the terms of ransom. When the Moorish king beheld 
his son, his only child, who was to remain in his stead, a 
sort of captive in a hostile land, he folded him in his 
arms and wept over him. “Woe the day that I was 
born ! ” exclaimed he, “ and evil the stars that presided 
at my birth ! Well was I called El Zogoybi, or the Un¬ 
lucky ; for sorrow is heaped upon me by my father, and 
sorrow do I transmit to my son ! ” The afflicted heart of 
Boabdil, however, was soothed by the kindness of the 
Christian sovereigns, who received the hostage prince 
with a tenderness suited to his age, and a distinction 
worthy of his rank. They delivered him in charge to 
the worthy alcayde Martin de Alarcon, who had treated 
his father with such courtesy during his confinement in 

the castle of Porcuna, giving orders, that, after the depar- 

171 






172 


CONQUEST OF OB AN AD A. 


ture of the latter, his son should be entertained, with 
great honor and princely attention, in the same fortress. 

On the 2d of September, a guard of honor assembled 
at the gate of the mansion of Boabdil, to escort him to 
the frontiers of his kingdom. He pressed his child to 
his heart at parting, but he uttered not a word; for 
there were many Christian eyes, to behold his emotion. 
He mounted his steed, and never turned his head to look 
again upon the youth; but those who were near him 
observed the vehement struggle that shook his frame, 
wherein the anguish of the father had well-nigh subdued 
the studied equanimity of the king. 

Boabdil el Chico and king Ferdinand sallied forth, 
side by side, from Cordova, amidst the acclamations of a 
prodigious multitude. Y/hen they were a short distance 
from the city, they separated, with many gracious expres¬ 
sions on the part of the Castilian monarch, and many 
thankful acknowledgments from his late captive, whose 
heart had been humbled by adversity. Ferdinand de¬ 
parted for Guadalupe, and Boabdil for Granada. The 
latter was accompanied by a guard of honor; and the 
viceroys of Andalusia, and the generals on the frontier, 
were ordered to furnish him with escorts, and to show 
him all possible honor on his journey. In this way he 
was conducted in royal state through the country he had 
entered to ravage, and was placed in safety in his own 
dominions. 

He was met on the frontier by the principal nobles 


BO AB DILB RETURN FROM CAPTIVITY. 


173 


and cavaliers of liis court, who had been secretly sent by 
his mother, the sultana Ayxa, to escort him to the capi¬ 
tal. The heart of Boabdil was lifted up for a moment, 
when he found himself on his own territories, sur¬ 
rounded by Moslem knights, with his own banners wav¬ 
ing over his head ; and he began to doubt the prediction 
of the astrologers : he soon found cause, however, to 
moderate his exultation. The royal train which had 
come to welcome him, was but scanty in number, and he 
missed many of his most zealous and obsequious cour¬ 
tiers. He had returned, indeed, to his kingdom, but it 
was no longer the devoted kingdom he had left. The 
story of his vassalage to the Christian sovereigns had 
been made use of by his father to ruin him with the 
people. He had been represented as a traitor to his 
country, a renegado to his faith, and as leagued with the 
enemies of both, to subdue the Moslems of Spain to the 
yoke of Christian bondage. In this way the mind of the 
public had been turned from him ; the greater part of 
the nobility had thronged round the throne of his father 
in the Alhambra; and his mother, the resolute sultana 
Ayxa, with difficulty maintained her faction in the op¬ 
posite towers of the Alcazaba. 

Such was the melancholy picture of affairs given to 
Boabdil by the courtiers who had come forth to meet 
him. They even informed him that it would be an 
enterprise of difficulty and danger to make his way back 
to the capital, and regain the little court which still 


174 


CONQUEST OF OH AN AD A. 


remained faithful to him in the heart of the city. Ths 
old tiger, Muley Abul Hassan, lay couched within the 
Alhambra, and the walls and gates of the city were 
strongly guarded by his troops. Boabdil shook his head 
at these tidings. He called to mind the ill omen of his 
breaking his lance against the gate of Elvira, when issu¬ 
ing forth so vaingloriously with his army, which he now 
saw clearly had foreboded the destruction of that army on 
which he had so confidently relied. “ Henceforth,” said 
he, “ let no man have the impiety to scoff at omens.” 

Boabdil approached his capital by stealth, and in the 
night, prowling about its walls like an enemy seeking to 
destroy, rather than a monarch returning to his throne. 
At length he seized upon a postern-gate of the Albay- 
cin—that part of the city which had always been in his 
favor; he passed rapidly through the streets before the 
populace were aroused from their sleep, and reached in 
safety the fortress of the Alcazaba. Here he was re¬ 
ceived into the embraces of his intrepid mother, and his 
favorite wife Morayma. The transports of the latter, 
on the safe return of her husband, were mingled with 
tears; for she thought of her father, Ali Atar, who had 
fallen in his cause, and of her only son, who was left a 
hostage in the hand of the Christians. 

The heart of Boabdil, softened by his misfortunes, was 
moved by the changes in everything round him ; but his 
mother called up his spirits. “This,” said she, “is no 
time for tears and fondness. A king must think of his 


BOABDIL IN GRANADA . 


175 


sceptre and his throne, and not yield to softness like 
common men. Thou hast done well, my son, in throw¬ 
ing thyself resolutely into Granada : it must depend 
upon thyself whether thou remain here a king or a cap¬ 
tive.” 

The old king, Muley Abul Hassan, had retired to his 
couch that night, in one of the strongest towers of the 
Alhambra; but his restless anxiety kept him from re¬ 
pose. In the first watch of the night, he heard a shout 
faintly rising from the quarter of the Albaycin, which is 
on the opposite side of the dark valley of the Darro. 
Shortly afterwards, horsemen came galloping up the hill 
that leads to the main gate of the Alhambra, spreading 
the alarm that Boabdil had entered the city and pos¬ 
sessed himself of the Alcazaba. 

In the first transports of his rage, the old king would 
have struck the messenger to earth. He hastily sum¬ 
moned his counselors and commanders, exhorting them 
to stand by him in this critical moment; and, during 
the night, made every preparation to enter the Albay¬ 
cin sword in hand in the morning. 

In the meantime, the sultana Ayxa had taken prompt 
and vigorous measures to strengthen her party. The 
Albaycin was the part of the city filled by the lower 
orders. The return of Boabdil was proclaimed through¬ 
out the streets, and large sums of money were distri¬ 
buted among the populace. The nobles, assembled in 
the Alcazaba, were promised honors and rewards by 


176 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


Boabdil, as soon as lie should be firmly seated on the 
throne. These well-timed measures had the customary 
effect; and, by daybreak, all the motley populace of the 
Albaycin were in arms. 

A doleful day succeeded. All Granada was a scene of 
tumult and horror. Drums and trumpets resounded in 
every part; all business was interrupted; the shops were 
shut, the doors barricadoed. Armed bands paraded the 
streets, some shouting for Boabdil, and some for Muley 
Abul Hassan. When they encountered each other, they 
fought furiously and without mercy; every public square 
became a scene of battle. The great mass of the lower 
orders was in favor of Boabdil, but it was a multitude 
without discipline or lofty spirit; part of the people were 
regularly armed, but the greater number had sallied 
forth with the implements of their trade. The troops of 
the old king, among whom were many cavaliers of pride 
and valor, soon drove the populace from the squares. 
They fortified themselves, however, in the streets and 
lanes, which they barricadoed. They made fortresses of 
their houses, and fought desperately from the windows 
and the roofs, and many a warrior of the highest blood 
of Granada was laid low by plebeian hands and plebeian 
weapons in this civic brawl.* 

It was impossible that such violent convulsions should 
last long in the heart of a city. The people soon long 


* Conde, Domin. de los Arabes., p. 4, c. 37. 


BOABDIL DRIVEN FROM GRANADA. 


177 


for repose, and a return to their peaceful occupations 
and the cavaliers detested these conflicts with the multi¬ 
tude, in which were all the horrors of war without its 
laurels. By the interference of the alfaquis, an armis¬ 
tice was at length effected. Boabdil was persuaded that 
there was no dependence upon the inconstant favor of 
the multitude, and was prevailed upon to quit a capital 
where he could only maintain a precarious seat upon his 
throne by a perpetual and bloody struggle. He fixed his 
court at the city of Almeria, which was entirely devoted 
to him, and which at that time vied with Granada in 
splendor and importance. This compromise of grandeur 
for tranquillity, however, was sorely against the counsels 
of his proud-spirited mother, the sultana Ayxa. Gra¬ 
nada appeared, in her eyes, the only legitimate seat of 
dominion; and she observed, with a smile of disdain, 
that he was not worthy of being called a monarch, who 
was not master of his capital. 

13 


CHAPTER XXII. 


FORAY OF THE MOORISH ALCAYDES, AND BATTLE OF LOPERA. 


HOUGH Muley Abul Hassan had regained un¬ 
divided sway over the city of Granada, and the 
alfaquis, by his command, had denounced his 
son Boabdil as an apostate, doomed by Heaven to mis¬ 
fortune, still the latter had many adherents among the 
common people. Whenever, therefore, any act of the old 
monarch was displeasing to the turbulent multitude, they 
were prone to give him a hint of the slippery nature of 
his standing by shouting out the name of Boabdil el 
Chico. Long experience had instructed Muley Abul 
Hassan in the character of the inconstant people over 
whom he ruled. “ A successful inroad into the country 
of the unbelievers,” said he, “ will make more converts to 
my cause than a thousand texts of the Koran, expounded 
by ten thousand alfaquis.” 

At this time king Ferdinand was absent from Andalu¬ 
sia on a distant expedition, with many of his troops. 
The moment was favorable for a foray, and Muley Abul 
Hassan cast about his thoughts for a leader to conduct 
it. Ali Atar, the terror of the border, the scourge of 

178 





MOORISH FORAY. 


179 


Andalusia, was dead; but there was another veteran gen¬ 
eral, scarce inferior to him for predatory warfare. This 
was old Bexir, the gray and crafty alcayde of Malaga; 
and the people under his command were ripe for an ex¬ 
pedition of the kind. The signal defeat and slaughter of 
the Spanish knights in the neighboring mountains had 
filled the people of Malaga with vanity and self-conceit. 
They had attributed to their own valor the defeat caused 
by the nature of the country. Many of them wore the 
armor and paraded in public with the horses of the un¬ 
fortunate cavaliers slain on that occasion, vauntingly dis¬ 
playing them as trophies of their boasted victory. They 
had talked themselves into a contempt for the chivalry 
of Andalusia, and were impatient for an opportunity to 
overrun a country defended by such troops. This, Muley 
Abul Hassan considered a favorable state of mind for a 
daring inroad, and sent orders to old Bexir to gather 
together the choicest warriors of the borders, and carry 
fire and sword into the very heart of Andalusia. Bexir 
immediately dispatched his emissaries among the al- 
caydes of the border towns, calling upon them to assem¬ 
ble with their troops at the city of Ronda. 

Ronda was the most virulent nest of Moorish depreda¬ 
tors in the whole border country. It was situated in the 
midst of the wild Serrania, or chain of mountains of the 
same name, which are uncommonly lofty, broken, and 
precipitous. It stood on an almost isolated rock, nearly 
encircled by a deep valley, or rather chasm, through 


180 


CONQUEST OF OBAN AD A. 


which ran the beautiful river called Bio Verde. The 
Moors of this city were the most active, robust, and 
warlike of all the mountaineers, and their very children 
discharged the crossbow with unerring aim. They were 
incessantly harassing the rich plains of Andalusia; their 
city abounded with Christian captives, who might sigh 
in vain for deliverance from this impregnable fortress. 
Such was Bonda in the time of the Moors ; and it has 
ever retained something of the same character, even to 
the present day. Its inhabitants continue to be among 
the boldest, fiercest, and most adventurous of the Anda¬ 
lusian mountaineers ; and the Serrania de Bonda is fa¬ 
mous as the most dangerous resort of the bandit and the 
contrabandista. 

Hamet Zeli, surnamed El Zegri, was the commander 
of this belligerent city and its fierce inhabitants. He 
was of the tribe of the Zegries, and one of the most 
proud and daring of that warlike race. Beside the in¬ 
habitants of Bonda and some of his own tribe, he had a 
legion of African Moors in his immediate service. They 
were of the tribe of the Gomeres, so called from their 
native mountains, mercenary troops, whose hot African 
blood had not yet been tempered by the softer living of 
Spain, and whose whole business was to fight. These he 
kept always well armed and well appointed. The rich 
pasturage of the Valley of Bonda produced a breed of 
horses famous for strength and speed ; no cavalry, there¬ 
fore, was better mounted than the band of Gomeres. 


MOORISH FORAY. 


181 


Rapid on the march, fierce in the attack, it would sweep 
down upon the Andalusian plains like a sudden blast 
from the mountains, and pass away as suddenly, before 
there was time for pursuit. 

There was nothing that stirred up the spirit of the 
Moors of the frontiers more thoroughly than the idea of 
ft foray. The summons of Bexir was gladly obeyed by 
the alcaydes of the border towns, and in a little while 
there was a force of fifteen hundred horse and four thou¬ 
sand foot, the very pith and marrow of the surrounding 
country, assembled within the walls of Ronda* The peo¬ 
ple of the place anticipated with eagerness the rich 
spoils of Andalusia, soon to crowd their gates; through¬ 
out the day, the city resounded with the noise of kettle¬ 
drum and trumpet; the high-mettled steeds stamped and 
neighed in their stalls, as if they shared the impatience 
for the foray; while the Christian captives sighed, as the 
varied din of preparation reached their rocky dungeons, 
denoting a fresh expedition against their countrymen. 

The infidel host sallied forth full of spirits, anticipat¬ 
ing an easy ravage and abundant booty. They encour¬ 
aged each other in a contempt for the prowess of the foe. 
Many of the warriors of Malaga, and of some of the 
mountain towns, had insultingly arrayed themselves in 
the splendid armor of the Christian knights slain or 
taken prisoners in the famous massacre, and some of 
them rode the Andalusian steeds captured on that occa» 


sion. 


182 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


The wary Bexir concerted his plans so secretly and ex¬ 
peditiously, that the Christian towns of Andalusia had 
not the least suspicion of the storm gathering beyond the 
mountains. The vast and rocky range of the Serrania de 
Honda extended like a screen, covering all their move¬ 
ments from observation. 

The army made its way as rapidly as the rugged na¬ 
ture of the mountains would permit, guided by Hamet el 
Zegri, the bold alcayde of Honda, who knew every pass 
and defile: not a drum, nor the clash of a cymbal, nor 
the blast of a trumpet, was permitted to be heard. The 
mass of war rolled quietly on as the gathering cloud to 
the brow of the mountains, intending to burst down like 
the thunderbolt upon the plain. 

Never let the most wary commander fancy himself 
secure from discovery; for rocks have eyes, and trees 
have ears, and the birds of the air have tongues, to be¬ 
tray the most secret enterprise. There chanced at this 
time to be six Christian scouts, prowling about the sav¬ 
age heights of the Serrania de Honda. They were of 
that kind of lawless ruffians who infest the borders of 
belligerent countries, ready at any time to fight for pay, 
or prowl for plunder. The wild mountain passes of 
Spain have ever abounded with loose rambling vaga¬ 
bonds of the kind—soldiers in war, robbers in peace; 
guides, guards, smugglers, or cut-throats, according to 
the circumstances of the case. 

These six marauders (says Fray Antonio Agapida) 


PUERTO GARRERO. 


183 


were on this occasion chosen instruments, sanctified by 
the righteousness of their cause. They were lurking 
among the mountains, to entrap Moorish cattle or Moor¬ 
ish prisoners, both of which were equally saleable in the 
Christian market. They had ascended one of the loftiest 
cliffs, and were looking out like birds of prey, ready to 
pounce upon anything that might offer in the valley, 
when they descried the Moorish army emerging from a 
mountain glen. They watched it as it wound below 
them, remarking the standards of the various towns and 
the pennons of the commanders. They hovered about it 
on its march, skulking from cliff to cliff, until they saw 
the route by which it intended to enter the Christian 
country. They then dispersed, each making his way by 
the secret passes of the mountains to some different 
alcayde, that they might spread the alarm far and wide, 
and each get a separate reward. 

One hastened to Luis Fernandez Puerto Carrero, the 
same valiant alcayde who had repulsed Muley Abul Has- 
san from the walls of Alhama, and who now commanded 
at Ecija, in the absence of the master of Santiago. 
Others roused the town of Utrera, and the places of that 
neighborhood, putting them all on the alert.* 

Puerto Carrero was a cavalier of consummate vigor and 
activity. He immediately sent couriers to the alcaydes 
of the neighboring fortresses; to Herman Carrello, cap- 


* Pulgar, p. 3, c. 24. Cura de los Palacios, cap. 67. 


184 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


tain of a body of the Holy Brotherhood, and to certain 
knights of the order of Alcantara. Puerto Carrero was 
the first to take the field. Knowing the hard and hun¬ 
gry service of these border scampers, he made every man 
take a hearty repast, and see that his horse was well 
shod and perfectly appointed. Then all being refreshed 
and in valiant heart, he sallied forth to seek the Moors. 
He had but a handful of men, the retainers of his house¬ 
hold and troops of his captaincy; but they were well 
armed and mounted, and accustomed to the rouses of the 
border; men whom the cry of “ Arm and out! to horse 
and to the field ! ” was sufficient at any time to put in a 
fever of animation. 

While the northern part of Andalusia was thus on the 
alert, one of the scouts had hastened southward to the 
city of Xeres, and given the alarm to the valiant marques 
of Cadiz. When the marques heard that the Moor was 
over the border, and that the standard of Malaga was in 
the advance, his heart bounded with a momentary joy; 
for he remembered the massacre in the mountains, where 
his valiant brothers had been mangled before his eyes. 
The very authors of his calamity were now at hand, and 
he flattered himself that the day of vengeance had ar¬ 
rived. He made a hasty levy of his retainers and of the 
fighting men of Xeres, and hurried off with three hun¬ 
dred horse and two hundred foot, all resolute men and 
panting for revenge. 

In the meantime the veteran Bexir had accomplished 



BEXIR’S FORAY. 


185 


his march, as he imagined, undiscovered. From the 
openings of the craggy defiles, he pointed out the fertile 
plains of Andalusia, and regaled the eyes of his soldiery 
with the rich country they were about to ravage. The 
fierce Gomeres of Ronda were flushed with joy at the 
sight; and even their steeds seemed to prick up their 
ears and snuff the breeze, as they beheld the scenes of 
their frequent forays. 

When they came to where the mountain defile opened 
into the low land, Bexir divided his force into three 
parts : one composed of foot-soldiers and such as were 
weakly mounted, he left to guard the pass, being too ex¬ 
perienced a veteran not to know the importance of secur¬ 
ing a retreat; a second body he placed in ambush, among 
the groves and thickets on the banks of the river Lo- 
pera; the third, consisting of light cavalry, he sent forth 
to ravage the Campina, or great plain of Utrera. Most 
of this latter force was composed of the Gomeres of 
Ronda, mounted on the fleet steeds bred among the 
mountains. It was led by Hamet el Zegri, ever eager to 
be foremost in the forage. Little suspecting that the 
country on both sides was on the alarm, and rushing 
from all directions to close upon them in the rear, this 
fiery troop dashed forward until they came within two 
leagues of Utrera. Here they scattered themselves about 
the plain, careering round the great herds of cattle and 
flocks of sheep, and sweeping them into droves, to be 
hurried to the mountains. 


186 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


While thus dispersed, a troop of horse and body of 
foot from IJtrera came suddenly upon them. The Moors 
rallied together in small parties, and endeavored to de¬ 
fend themselves; but they were without a leader, for 
Hamet el Zegri was at a distance, having, like a hawk, 
made a wide circuit in pursuit of prey. The marauders 
soon gave way and fled towards the ambush on the banks 
of the Lopera, being hotly pursued by the men of Utrera. 

When they reached the Lopera, the Moors in ambush 
rushed forth with furious cries ; and the fugitives, recov¬ 
ering courage from this reinforcement, rallied and turned 
upon their pursuers. The Christians stood their ground, 
though greatly inferior in number. Their lances were 
soon broken, and they came to sharp work with sword 
and scimetar. The Christians fought valiantly, but were 
in danger of being overwhelmed. The bold Hamet col¬ 
lected a handful of his scattered Gomeres, left his prey, 
and galloped towards the scene of action. His little 
troop of horsemen had reached the crest of a rising 
ground at no great distance, when trumpets were heard 
in another direction, and Luis Fernandez Puerto Carrero 
and his followers came galloping into the field, and 
charged upon the infidels in flank. 

The Moors were astounded at finding war thus break¬ 
ing upon them from various quarters of what they had 
expected to find an unguarded country. They fought for 
a short time with desperation, and resisted a vehement 
assault from the knights of Alcantara, and the men-at- 



CARRERO’S VICTORY. 


187 


arms of tlie Holy Brotherhood. At length the veteran 
Bexir was struck from his horse by Puerto Carrero, and 
taken prisoner, and the whole force gave way and fled. 
In their flight, they separated, and took two roads to the 
mountains, thinking, by dividing their forces, to distract 
the enemy. The Christians were too few to separate. 
Puerto Carrero kept them together, pursuing one divi¬ 
sion of the enemy with great slaughter. This battle took 
place at the fountain of the fig-tree, near to the Lopera. 
Six hundred Moorish cavaliers were slain, and many 
taken prisoners. Much spoil was collected on the field, 
with which the Christians returned in triumph to their 
homes. 

The larger body of the enemy had retreated along a 
road leading more to the south, by the banks of the 
Guadalete. When they reached that river the sound of 
pursuit had died away, and they rallied to breathe and 
refresh themselves on the margin of the stream. Their 
force was reduced to about a thousand horse, and a con¬ 
fused multitude of foot. While they were scattered and 
partly dismounted on the banks of the Guadalete, a fresh 
storm of war burst upon them from an opposite direction. 
It was the marques of Cadiz, leading on his household 
troops and the fighting men of Xeres. When the Chris¬ 
tian warriors came in sight of the Moors, they were 
roused to fury at beholding many of them arrayed in the 
armor of the cavaliers who had been slain among the 
mountains of Malaga. Nay, some who had been in that 


188 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


defeat belield their own armor, which they had cast away 
in their flight, to enable themselves to climb the moun¬ 
tains. Exasperated at the sight, they rushed upon the 
foe with the ferocity of tigers, rather than the temperate 
courage of cavaliers. Each man felt as if he were aveng¬ 
ing the death of a relative, or wiping out his own dis¬ 
grace. The good marques, himself, beheld a powerful 
Moor bestriding the horse of his brother Beltran: giving 
a cry of rage and anguish at the sight, he rushed through 
the thickest of the enemy, attacked the Moor with resist¬ 
less fury, and after a short combat, hurled him breath¬ 
less to the earth. 

The Moors, already vanquished in spirit, could not 
withstand the assault of men thus madly excited. They 
soon gave way, and fled for the defile of the Serrania de 
Honda, where the body of troops had been stationed to 
secure a retreat. These, seeing them come galloping 
wildly up the defile, with Christian banners in pursuit, 
and the flash of weapons at their deadly work, thought all 
Andalusia was upon them, and fled without awaiting an 
attack. The pursuit continued among glens and defiles; 
for the Christian warriors, eager for revenge, had no com¬ 
passion on the foe. 

When the pursuit was over, the marques of Cadiz and 
his followers reposed themselves upon the banks of the 
Guadalete, where they divided the spoil. Among this 
were found many rich corselets, helmets, and weapons— 
the Moorish trophies of the defeat in the mountains of 


EXULTATION MIXED WITH SORROW. 


189 


Malaga. Several were claimed by their owners; others 
were known to have belonged to noble cavaliers, who 
had been slain or taken prisoners. There were several 
horses, also, richly caparisoned, which had pranced 
proudly with the unfortunate warriors, as they sallied 
out of Antiquera upon that fatal expedition. Thus the 
exultation of the victors was dashed with melancholy, 
and many a knight was seen lamenting over the helmet 
or corselet of some loved companion in arms. 

The good marques of Cadiz was resting under a tree 
on the banks of the Guadalete, when the horse which 
had belonged to his slaughtered brother Beltran was 
brought to him. He laid his hand upon the mane, and 
looked wistfully at the empty saddle. His bosom heaved 
with violent agitation, and his lip quivered and was pale. 
“ Ay de mi ! hermano ! ” (woe is me ! my brother!) was 
all that he said; for the grief of a warrior has not many 
words. He looked round on the field strewn with the 
bodies of the enemy, and in the bitterness of his woe felt 
consoled by the idea that his brother had not been un¬ 
revenged. 

Note.— “En el despojo de la Batalla se vieron nmchas ricas corazas e 
capacetes, e barberas de las que se habian perdido en el Axarquia, e otras 
nmchas armas, e algnnes fueron conocidas de sus duenos que las habian 
dejado por fuir, e otras fueron conocidas, que eran mui senaladas de hom- 
bres principales que habian quedado muertos e eautiyos, i fueron tor¬ 
nados muchos de los mismos Caballos con sus ricas sillas, de los que que- 
daron en la Axarquia e fueron conocidos cuios eran .”—Cura de los Palar 
cios, eap. 67. 


CHAPTER XXm. 


RETREAT OF HAMET EL ZEGRI, ALCAYDE OF RONDA. 

HE bold alcayde of Bonda, Hamet el Zegri, bad 
careered wide over the Campina of Utrera, 
encompassing tbe flocks and herds, when he 
heard the burst of war at a distance. There were with 
him but a handful of his Gomeres. He saw the scamper 
and pursuit afar off, and beheld the Christian horsemen 
spurring madly towards the ambuscade on the banks of 
the Lopera. Hamet tossed his hand triumphantly aloft, 
for his men to follow him. “The Christian dogs are 
ours! ” said he, as he put spurs to his horse, to take the 
enemy in rear. The little band which followed Hamet 
scarcely amounted to thirty horsemen. They spurred 
across the plain, and reached a rising ground, just as the 
force of Puerto Carrero had charged, with sound of trum¬ 
pet, upon the flank of the party in ambush. Hamet be¬ 
held the headlong rout of the army with rage and con¬ 
sternation. He found the country was pouring forth its 
legions from every quarter, and perceived that there was 
no safety but in precipitate flight. 

But which w r ay to fly ? An army was between him and 

190 







RETREAT OF EAMET EL ZEORL 


191 


the mountain pass; all the forces of the neighborhood 
were rushing to the borders; the whole route by which 
he had come was by this time occupied by the foe. He 
checked his steed, rose in the stirrups, and rolled a stern 
and thoughtful eye over the country; then sinking into 
his saddle, he seemed to commune a moment with him¬ 
self. Turning quickly to his troop, he singled out a rene- 
gado Christian, a traitor to his religion and his king. 
“ Come hither,” said Hamet. “ Thou knowest all the 
secret passes of the country.” “ I do,” replied the rene- 
gado. “Dost thou know any circuitous route, solitary 
and untravelled, by which we can pass wide within these 
troops, and reach the Serrania ? ” The renegado paused : 
“ Such a route I know, but it is full of peril, for it leads 
through the heart of the Christian land.” “ ’Tis well,” 
said Hamet; “the more dangerous in appearance, the 
less it will be suspected. Now hearken to me. Ride by 
my side. Thou seest this purse of gold and this scime- 
tar. Take us, by the route thou hast mentioned, safe to 
the pass of the Serrania, and this purse shall be thy re¬ 
ward; betray us, and this scimetar shall cleave thee to 
the saddle-bow.” * 

The renegado obeyed, trembling. They turned off 
from the direct road to the mountains, and struck south¬ 
ward toward Lebrixa, passing by the most solitary roads, 
and along those deep ramblas and ravines by which the 


* Cicra de los Palacios, ubi sup. 


192 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


country is intersected. It was indeed a daring course. 
Every now and then they heard the distant sound of 
trumpets, and the alarm-bells of towns and villages, and 
found that the war was still hurrying to the borders. 
They hid themselves in thickets and in dry beds of 
rivers, until the danger had passed by, and then resumed 
their course. Hamet el Zegri rode on in silence, his 
hand upon his scimetar and his eye upon the renegado 
guide, prepared to sacrifice him on the least sign of 
treachery; while his band followed, gnawing their lips 
with rage, at having thus to skulk through a country they 
had come to ravage. 

When night fell, they struck into more practicable 
roads, always keeping wide of the villages and hamlets, 
lest the watch-dogs should betray them. In this way 
they passed in deep midnight by Arcos, crossed the Gua- 
dalete, and effected their retreat to the mountains. The 
day dawned as they made their way up the savage de¬ 
files. Their comrades had been hunted up these very 
glens by the enemy. Every now and then they came to 
where there had been a partial fight, or a slaughter of 
the fugitives ; and the rocks were red with blood, and 
strewed with mangled bodies. The alcayde of Bonda 
was almost frantic with rage, at seeing many of his 
bravest warriors lying stiff and stark, a prey to the hawks 
and vultures of the mountains. Now and then some 
wretched Moor would crawl out of a cave or glen, 
whither he had fied for refuge; for in the retreat many of 


MOORISH LAMENTATIONS. 


193 


the horsemen had abandoned their steeds, thrown away 
their armor, and clambered np the cliffs, where they 
could not be pursued by the Christian cavalry. 

The Moorish army had sallied forth from Ronda, amidst 
3houts and acclamations; but wailings were heard within 
its walls as the alcayde and his broken band returned 
without banner or trumpet, and haggard with famine 
and fatigue. The tidings of their disaster had preceded 
them, borne by the fugitives of the army. No one ven¬ 
tured to speak to the stern Hamet, as he entered the 
city; for they saw a dark cloud upon his brow. 

It seemed (says the pious Antonio Agapida) as if 
Heaven meted out this defeat in exact retribution for the 
ills inflicted upon the Christian warriors in the heights of 
Malaga. It was equally signal and disastrous. Of the 
brilliant array of Moorish chivalry, which had descended 
so confidently into Andalusia, not more than two hun¬ 
dred escaped. The choicest troops of the frontier were 
either taken or destroyed; the Moorish garrisons en¬ 
feebled ; and many alcaydes and cavaliers of noble line¬ 
age carried into captivity, who were afterwards obliged 
to redeem themselves with heavy ransoms. 

This was called the battle of Lopera, and was fought 
on the 17th of September, 1483. Ferdinand and Isabella 
were at Yittoria, in Old Castile, when they received news 
of the victory, and the standards taken from the enemy. 
They celebrated the event with processions, illumina¬ 
tions, and other festivities. Ferdinand sent to the mar- 
13 


194 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


ques of Cadiz the royal raiment which he had worn on 
that day, and conferred on him, and all those who should 
inherit his title, the privilege of wearing royal robes on 
our Lady’s day, in September, in commemoration of this 
victory.* 

Queen Isabella was equally mindful of the great ser¬ 
vices of Don Luis Fernandez Puerto Carrero. Besides 
many encomiums and favors, she sent to his wife the 
royal vestments and robe of brocade which she had worn 
on the same day, to be worn by her, during her life, on 
the anniversary of that battle.* 


Mariana, Abarca, Zurita, Pulgar, etc. 


CHAPTER XXIV. 


OP THE RECEPTION AT COURT OF THE COUNT DE CABRA AND THE ALOAYDB 
DE LOS DONCELES. 

X the midst of the bustle of warlike affairs, 
the worthy chronicler Fray Antonio Agapida 
pauses to note, with curious accuracy, the dis¬ 
tinguished reception given to the count de Cabra and his 
nephew, the alcayde de los Donceles, at the stately and 
ceremonious court of the Castilian sovereigns, in reward 
for the capture of the Moorish king Boabdil. The court 
(he observes) was held at the time in the ancient Moor¬ 
ish palace of the city of Cordova, and the ceremonials 
were arranged by that venerable prelate, Don Pedro 
Gonzales de Mendoza, bishop of Toledo and grand cardi¬ 
nal of Spain. 

It was on Wednesday, the 14th of October (continues 
the precise Antonio Agapida), that the good count de 
Cabra, according to arrangement, appeared at the gate of 
Cordova. Here he was met by the grand cardinal, and 
the duke of Villahermosa, illegitimate brother of the 
king, together with many of the first grandees and prel¬ 
ates of the kingdom. By this august train was he at- 

195 




196 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


tended to the palace, amidst strains of martial music, and 
the shouts of a prodigious multitude. 

When the count arrived in the presence of the sove¬ 
reigns, who were seated in state on a dais or raised part 
of the hall of audience, they both arose. The king ad¬ 
vanced exactly five steps toward the count, who knelt and 
kissed his royal hand; however, the king would not re¬ 
ceive him as a mere vassal, but embraced him with affec¬ 
tionate cordiality. The queen also advanced two steps, 
and received the count with a countenance full of sweet¬ 
ness and benignity : after he had kissed her hand, the 
king and queen returned to their thrones, and, cushions 
being brought, they ordered the count de Cabra to be 
seated in their presence. This last circumstance is writ¬ 
ten in large letters, and followed by several notes of ad¬ 
miration, in the manuscript of the worthy Fray Antonio 
Agapida, who considers the extraordinary privilege of 
sitting in presence of the Catholic sovereigns an honor 
well worth fighting for. 

The good count took his seat at a short distance from 
the king, and near him was seated the duke of Najera, 
then the bishop of Palencia, then the count of Aguilar, 
the count Luna, and Don Gutierre de Cardenas, senior 
commander of Leon. 

On the side of the queen were seated the grand cardi¬ 
nal of Spain, the duke of Villahermosa, the count of 
Monte Rey, and the bishops of Jaen and Cuenca, each in 
the order in which they are named. The infanta Isa- 


HONORS TO THE VICTORS. 


197 


bella was prevented, by indisposition, from attending the 
ceremony. 

And now festive music resounded through the hall, and 
twenty ladies of the queen’s retinue entered, magnifi¬ 
cently attired; upon which twenty youthful cavaliers, 
very gay and galliard in their array, stepped forth, and, 
each seeking his fair partner, they commenced a stately 
dance. The court, in the meantime (observes Fray Anto¬ 
nio Agapida), looked on with lofty and becoming gravity. 

When the dance was concluded, the king and queen 
rose to retire to supper, and dismissed the count with 
many gracious expressions. He was then attended by 
all the grandees present to the palace of the grand car¬ 
dinal, where they partook of a sumptuous banquet. 

On the following Saturday, the alcayde de los Don- 
celes was received, likewise, with great honors; but the 
ceremonies were so arranged, as to be a degree less in 
dignity than those shown to his uncle ; the latter being 
considered the principal actor in this great achievement. 
Thus the grand cardinal and the duke of Villahermosa 
did not meet him at the gate of the city, but received 
him in the palace, and entertained him in conversation 
until summoned to the sovereigns. 

When the alcayde de los Donceles entered the pres¬ 
ence chamber, the king and queen rose from their chairs, 
but without advancing. They greeted him graciously, 
and commanded him to be seated next to the count de 
Cabra. 


198 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


The infanta Isabella came forth to this reception, and 
took her seat beside the queen. When the court were 
all seated, the music again sounded through the hall, and 
the twenty ladies came forth as on the preceding occa¬ 
sion, richly attired, but in different raiment. They 
danced as before; and the infanta Isabella, taking a 
young Portuguese damsel for a partner, joined in the 
dance. When this was concluded, the king and queen 
dismissed the alcayde de los Donceles with great cour' 
tesy, and the court broke up. 

The worthy Fray Antonio Agapida here indulges in a 
long eulogy on the scrupulous discrimination of the Cas¬ 
tilian court, in the distribution of its honors and rewards, 
by which means every smile, and gesture, and word of 
the sovereigns, had its certain value, and conveyed its 
equivalent of joy to the heart of the subject;—a matter 
well worth the study (says he) of all monarchs, who are 
too apt to distribute honors with a heedless caprice that 
renders them of no avail. 

On the following Sunday both the count de Cabra and 
the alcayde de los Donceles were invited to sup with the 
sovereigns. The court that evening was attended by the 
highest nobility, arrayed with that cost and splendor 
for which the Spanish nobility of those days were re¬ 
nowned. 

Before supper, there was a stately and ceremonious 
dance, befitting the dignity of so august a court. The 
king led forth the queen, in grave and graceful measure ; 


MEMORIALS OF THE VICTORY. 


199 


the count de Cabra was honored with the hand of the in¬ 
fanta Isabella; and the alcayde de los Donceles danced 
with a daughter of the marques de Astorga. 

The dance being concluded, the royal party repaired to 
the supper-table, which was placed on an elevated part 
of the saloon. Here, in full view of the court, the count 
de Cabra and the alcayde de los Donceles supped at the 
same table with the king, the queen, and the infanta. 
The royal family were served by the marques of Yillena. 
The cupbearer to the king was his nephew, Fadrigue de 
Toledo, son to the duke of Alva. Don Alexis de Esta- 
niga had the honor of fulfilling that office for the queen, 
and Tello de Aguilar for the infanta. Other cavaliers of 
rank and distinction waited on the count and the alcayde 
de los Donceles. At one o’clock, the two distinguished 
guests were dismissed with many courteous expressions 
by the sovereigns. 

Such (says Fray Antonio Agapida) were the great 
honors paid at our most exalted and ceremonious court 
to these renowned cavaliers; but the gratitude of the 
sovereigns did not end here. A few days afterwards, 
they bestowed upon them large revenues for life, and 
others to descend to their heirs, with the privilege for 
them and their descendants to prefix the title of Don to 
their names. They gave them, moreover, as armorial 
bearings, a Moor’s head crowned, with a golden chain 
round the neck, in a sanguine field, and twenty-two ban¬ 
ners round the margin of the escutcheon. Their descend- 


200 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


ants, of the houses of Cabra and Cordova, continue to 
bear these arms at the present day, in memorial of the 
victory of Lucena and the capture of Boabdil el Chico.* 

* The account given by Fray Antonio Agapida of this ceremonial, so 
characteristic of the old Spanish court, agrees in almost every particular 
with an ancient manuscript, made up from the chronicles of the Curate 
of los Palacios and other old Spanish writers 


CHAPTER XXY. 

HOW THE MARQUES OP CADIZ CONCERTED TO SURPRISE ZAHARA, AND THE 
RESULT OF HIS ENTERPRISE. 

valiant Roderigo Ponce de Leon, marques 
Cadiz, was one of the most vigilant of com- 
aiders. He kept in his pay a number of 
converted Moors, to serve as adalides, or armed guides. 
These mongrel Christians were of great service in pro¬ 
curing information. Availing themselves of their Moor¬ 
ish character and tongue, they penetrated into the ene¬ 
my’s country, prowled about the castles and fortresses, 
noticed the state of the walls, the gates and towers, the 
strength of their garrison, and the vigilance or negligence 
of their commanders. All this they reported minutely to 
the marques, who thus knew the state of every fortress 
upon the frontier, and when it might be attacked with 
advantage. Besides the various towns and cities over 
which he held feudal sway, he had always an armed force 
about him, ready for the field. A host of retainers fed in 
his hall, who were ready to follow him to danger and 
death itself, without inquiring who or why they fought. 
The armories of his castles were supplied with helms and 

201 





202 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA , 


cuirasses, and weapons of all kinds, ready burnished for 
use; and liis stables were filled with hardy steeds, that 
could stand a mountain scamper. 

The marques was aware that the late defeat of the 
Moors on the banks of the Lopera had weakened their 
whole frontier; for many of the castles and fortresses 
had lost their alcaydes, and their choicest troops. He 
sent out his war-hounds, therefore, upon the range, to 
ascertain where a successful blow might be struck; and 
t'hey soon returned, with word that Zahar a was weakly 
garrisoned and short of provisions. 

This was the very fortress, which, about two years be¬ 
fore, had been stormed by Muley Abul Hassan; and its 
capture had been the first blow of this eventful war. It 
had ever since remained a thorn in the side of Andalusia. 
All the Christians had been carried away captive, and 
no civil population had been introduced in their stead. 
There were no women or children in the place. It was 
kept up as a mere military post, commanding one of the 
most important passes of the mountains, and was a 
stronghold of Moorish marauders. The marques was 
animated by the idea of regaining this fortress for his 
sovereigns and wresting from the old Moorish king this 
boasted trophy of his prowess. He sent missives, there¬ 
fore, to the brave Luis Fernandez Puerto Carrero, who 
had distinguished himself in the late victory, and to 
Juan Almaraz, captain of the men-at-arms of the Holy 
Brotherhood, informing them of his designs, and inviting 


PROJECT FOR SURPRISING ZAHARA. 


203 


them to meet him with their forces on the banks of the 
Guadalete. 

It was on the day (says Fray Antonio Agapida) of the 
glorious apostles St. Simon and Judas, the twenty-eighth 
of October, in the year of grace one thousand four hun¬ 
dred and eighty-three, that this chosen band of Christian 
soldiers assembled suddenly and secretly at the appoint¬ 
ed place. Their forces, when united, amounted to six 
hundred horse and fifteen hundred foot. Their gather¬ 
ing place was at the entrance of the defile leading to 
Zahara. That ancient town, renowned in Moorish war¬ 
fare, is situated in one of the roughest passes of the Ser- 
rania de Fonda. It is built round the craggy cone of a 
hill, on the lofty summit of which is a strong castle. 
The country around is broken into deep barrancas or 
ravines, some of which approach its very walls. The 
place had until recently been considered impregnable ; 
but (as the worthy Fray Antonio Agapida observes) the 
walls of impregnable fortresses, like the virtue of self- 
confident saints, have their weak points of attack. 

The marques of Cadiz advanced with his little army in 
the dead of the night, marching silently into the deep 
and dark defiles of the mountains, and stealing up the 
ravines which extended to the walls of the town. Their 
approach was so noiseless that the Moorish sentinels 
upon the walls heard not a voice or a footfall. The mar¬ 
ques was accompanied by his old escalador, Ortega de 
Prado, who had distinguished himself at the scaling of 


204 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


Alhama. This hardy veteran was stationed, with ten 
men, furnished with scaling-ladders, in a cavity among 
the rocks, close to the walls. At a little distance, seventy 
men were hid in a ravine, to be at hand to second him, 
when he should have fixed his ladders. The rest of the 
troops were concealed in another ravine, commanding a 
fair approach to the gate of the fortress. A shrewd and 
wary adalid, well acquainted with the place, was ap¬ 
pointed to give signals, and so stationed, that he could 
be seen by the various parties in ambush, but not by the 
garrison. 

The remainder of the night passed away in profound 
quiet. The Moorish sentinels could be heard tranquilly 
patrolling the walls, in perfect security. The day dawn¬ 
ed, and the rising sun began to shine against the lofty 
peaks of the Serrania de Itonda. The sentinels looked 
from their battlements over a savage but quiet mountain 
country, where not a human being was stirring; they 
little dreamt of the mischief lurking in every ravine 
and chasm of the rocks around them. Apprehending no 
danger of surprise in broad day, the greater part of the 
soldiers abandoned the walls and towers, and descended 
into the city. 

By orders of the marques, a small body of light cav¬ 
alry passed along the glen, and, turning round a point of 
rock, showed themselves before the town : they skirred 
the fields almost to the gates, as if by way of bravado, 
and to defy the garrison to a skirmish. The Moors were 


CAPTURE OF ZAHARA. 


205 


not slow in replying to it. About seventy horse, and a 
number of foot who had guarded the walls, sallied forth 
impetuously, thinking to make easy prey of these inso¬ 
lent marauders. The Christian horsemen fled for the 
ravine, the Moors pursued them down the hill, until they 
heard a great shouting and tumult behind them. Look¬ 
ing round towards the town, they beheld a scaling party 
mounting the walls sword in hand. Wheeling about, 
they galloped for the gate; the marques of Cadiz and 
Luis Fernandez Puerto Carrero rushed forth at the 
same time with their ambuscade, and endeavored to cut 
them off; but the Moors succeeded in throwing them¬ 
selves within the walls. 

While Puerto Carrero stormed at the gate, the mar¬ 
ques put spurs to his horse and galloped to the support 
of Ortega de Prado and his scaling party. He arrived at 
a moment of imminent peril, when the party was assailed 
by fifty Moors, armed with cuirasses and lances, who 
were on the point of thrusting them from the walls. 
The marques sprang from his horse, mounted a ladder, 
sword in hand, followed by a number of his troops, and 
made a vigorous attack upon the enemy.* They were 
soon driven from the walls, and the gates and towers 
remained in possession of the Christians. The Moors 
defended themselves for a short time in the streets, but 
at length took refuge in the castle, the walls of which 


* Cura de los Palacios , c. 68. 


206 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


were strong, and capable of bolding out until relief 
should arrive. The marques had no desire to carry on 
a siege, and he had not provisions sufficient for many 
prisoners; he granted them, therefore, favorable terms. 
They were permitted, on leaving their arms behind them, 
to march out with as much of their effects as they could 
carry; and it was stipulated that they should pass over 
to Barbary. The marques remained in the place until 
' both town and castle were put in a perfect state of de¬ 
fense, and strongly garrisoned. 

Thus did Zahara return once more in possession of the 
Christians, to the great confusion of old Muley Abul 
Hassan, who, having paid the penalty of his ill-timed 
violence, was now deprived of its vaunted fruits. The 
Castilian sovereigns were so gratified by this achieve¬ 
ment of the valiant Ponce de Leon, that they authorized 
him thenceforth to entitle himself duke of Cadiz and 
marques of Zahara. The warrior, however, was so proud 
of the original title, under which he had so often signal¬ 
ized himself, that he gave it the precedence, and always 
signed himself marques, duke of Cadiz. As the reader 
may have acquired the same predilection, we shall con¬ 
tinue to call him by his ancient title. 


CHAPTER XXVI. 


OF THE FORTRESS OF ALHAMA, AND HOW WISELY IT WAS GOVERNED BY THE 
COUNT DE TENDILLA. 

N this part of his chronicle, the worthy father 
Fray Antonio Agapida indulges in triumphant 
exultation over the downfall of Zahara : Heaven 
sometimes speaks (says he) through the mouths of false 
prophets, for the confusion of the wicked. By the fall of 
this fortress was the prediction of the santon of Granada 
in some measure fulfilled, that “the ruins of Zahara 
should fall upon the heads of the infidels.” 

Our zealous chronicler scoffs at the Moorish alcayde, 
who lost his fortress by surprise in broad daylight; and 
contrasts the vigilance of the Christian governor of Al- 
hama, the town taken in retaliation for the storming of 
Zahara. 

The important post of Alhama was at this time confided 
by King Ferdinand to Don Inigo Lopez de Mendoza, 
count of Tendilla, a cavalier of noble blood, brother to the 
grand cardinal of Spain. He had been instructed by the 
king, not merely to maintain his post, but also to make 
sallies and lay waste the surrounding country. His fort- 

207 






208 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


ress was critically situated. It was within seven leagues 
of Granada, and at no great distance from the warlike 
city of Loxa. It was nestled in the lap of the moun¬ 
tains, commanding the high-road to Malaga and a view 
over the extensive vega. Thus situated, in the heart of 
the enemy’s country, surrounded by foes ready to assail 
him, and a rich country for him to ravage, it behooved 
this cavalier to be forever on the alert. He was in fact 
an experienced veteran, a shrewd and wary officer, and a 
commander amazingly prompt and fertile in expedients. 

On assuming the command, he found that the garrison 
consisted but of one thousand men, horse and foot. 
They were hardy troops, seasoned in rough mountain 
campaigning, but reckless and dissolute, as soldiers are 
apt to be when accustomed to predatory warfare. They 
would fight hard for booty, and then gamble it heed¬ 
lessly away, or squander it in licentious reveling. Al- 
hama abounded with hawking, sharping, idle hangers-on, 
eager to profit by the vices and follies of the garrison. 
The soldiers were oftener gambling and dancing beneath 
the walls, than keeping watch upon the battlements ; and 
nothing was heard, from morning till night, but the 
noisy contest of cards and dice, mingled with the sound 
of the bolero or fandango, the drowsy strumming of the 
guitar, and the rattling of the castanets; while often the 
whole was interrupted by the loud brawl, and fierce and 
bloody contest. 

The count of Tendilla set himself vigorously to reform 


THE COUNT OF TENBILLA. 


209 


these excesses; he knew that laxity of morals is gen¬ 
erally attended by neglect of duty, and that the least 
breach of discipline in the exposed situation of his fort¬ 
ress might be fatal. “ Here is but a handful of men,” 
said he ; “ it is necessary that each man should be a 
hero.” 

He endeavored to awaken a proper ambition in the 
minds of his soldiers, and to instill into them the high 
principles of chivalry. “ A just war,” he observed, “ is 
often rendered wicked and disastrous by the manner in 
which it is conducted; for the righteousness of the cause 
is not sufficient to sanction the profligacy of the means, 
and the want of order and subordination among the 
troops may bring ruin and disgrace upon the best con¬ 
certed plans.” But we cannot describe the character 
and conduct of this renowned commander in more forci¬ 
ble language than that of Fray Antonio Agapida, except¬ 
ing that the pious father places in the foreground of his 
virtues his hatred of the Moors. “The count de Ten- 
dilla,” says he, “ was a mirror of Christian knighthood— 
watchful, abstemious, chaste, devout, and thoroughly 
filled with the spirit of the cause. He labored inces¬ 
santly and strenuously for the glory of the faith, and the 
prosperity of their most Catholic majesties ; and, above 
all, he hated the infidels with a pure and holy hatred. 
This worthy cavalier discountenanced all idleness, riot¬ 
ing, chambering, and wantonness, among his soldiery. 
He kept them constantly to the exercise of arms, making 
14 


210 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


tliem adroit in the use of their weapons and management 
of their steeds, and prompt for the field at a moment’s 
notice. He permitted no sound of lute or harp, or song, 
or other loose minstrelsy, to be heard in his fortress, 
debauching the ear and softening the valor of the sol¬ 
dier ; no other music was allowed but the wholesome 
rolling of the drum and braying of the trumpet, and such 
like spirit-stirring instruments, as fill the mind with 
thoughts of iron-war. All wandering minstrels, sharp¬ 
ing pedlars, sturdy trulls, and other camp trumpery, 
were ordered to pack up their baggage, and were 
drummed out of the gates of Alhama. In place of such 
lewd rabble, he introduced a train of holy friars to in¬ 
spirit his people by exhortation, and prayer, and choral 
chanting, and to spur them on to fight the good fight of 
faith. All games of chance were prohibited, except the 
game of war; and this he labored, by vigilance and 
vigor, to reduce to a game of certainty. Heaven smiled 
upon the efforts of this righteous cavalier. His men 
became soldiers at all points, and terrors to the Moors. 
The good count never set forth on a ravage, without 
observing the rites of confession, absolution, and com¬ 
munion, and obliging his followers to do the same. 
Their banners were blessed by the holy friars whom he 
maintained in Alhama; and in this way success was 
secured to his arms, and he was enabled to lay waste the 
land of the heathen.” 

“The fortress of Alhama,” continues Fray Antonio 


THE COUNT OF TENDILLA. 


211 


Agapida, “ overlooked from its lofty site a great part of 
the fertile vega, watered by the Cazin and the Xenil; 
from this he made frequent sallies, sweeping away the 
flocks and herds from the pasture, the laborer from the 
field, and the convoy from the road; so that it was said 
by the Moors, that a beetle could not crawl across the 
vega without being seen by count Tendilla. The peas¬ 
antry, therefore, were fain to betake themselves to 
watch-towers and fortified hamlets, where they shut up 
their cattle, garnered their corn, and sheltered their 
wives and children. Even there they were not safe ; the 
count would storm these rustic fortresses with fire and 
sword ; make captives of their inhabitants; carry off the 
corn, the oil, the silks, and cattle ; and leave the ruins 
blazing and smoking, within the very sight of Granada.” 

“ It was a pleasing and refreshing sight,” continues the 
good father, “to behold this pious knight and his fol¬ 
lowers returning from one of these crusades, leaving the 
rich land of the infidel in smoking desolation behind 
them; to behold the long line of mules and asses, laden 
with the plunder of the Gentiles—the hosts of captive 
Moors, men, women, and children — droves of sturdy 
beeves, lowing kine, and bleating sheep; all winding up 
the steep acclivity to the gates of Alhama, pricked on by 
the Catholic soldiery. His garrison thus thrived on the 
fat of the land and the spoil of the infidel; nor was he 
unmindful of the pious fathers, whose blessings crowned 
his enterprises with success. A large portion of the 


212 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA . 


spoil was always dedicated to the church; and the good 
friars were ever ready at the gate to hail him on his 
return, and receive the share allotted them. Beside 
these allotments, he made many votive offerings, either 
in time of peril or on the eve of a foray; and the chapels 
of Alhama were resplendent with chalices, crosses, and 
other precious gifts made by this Catholic cavalier.” 

Thus eloquently does the venerable Fray Antonio 
Agapida dilate in praise of the good count de Tendilla; 
and other historians of equal veracity, but less unction, 
agree in pronouncing him one of the ablest of Spanish 
generals. So terrible in fact did he become in the land, 
that the Moorish peasantry could not venture a league 
from Granada or Loxa to labor in the fields, without peril 
of being carried into captivity. The people of Granada 
clamored against Muley Abul Hassan, for suffering his 
lands to be thus outraged and insulted, and demanded to 
have this bold marauder shut up in his fortress. The old 
monarch was roused by their remonstrances. He sent 
forth powerful troops of horse, to protect the country, 
during the season that the husbandmen were abroad in 
the fields. These troops patrolled in formidable squad¬ 
rons in the neighborhood of Alhama, keeping strict watch 
upon its gates; so that it was impossible for the Chris¬ 
tians to make a sally, without being seen and intercepted. 

While Alhama was thus blockaded by a roving force 
of Moorish cavalry, the inhabitants were awakened one 
night by a tremendous crash, that shook the fortress to 


DEFENSE OF ALHAMA. 


213 


its foundations. The garrison flew to arms, supposing it 
some assault of the enemy. The alarm proved to have 
been caused by the rupture of a portion of the wall, 
which, undermined by heavy rains, had suddenly given 
way, leaving a large chasm yawning towards the plain. 

The count de Tendilla was for a time in great anxiety. 
Should this breach be discovered by the blockading 
horsemen, they would arouse the country, Granada and 
Loxa would pour out an overwhelming force, and they 
would find his walls ready sapped for an assault. In 
this fearful emergency, the count displayed his noted 
talent for expedients. He ordered a quantity of linen 
cloth to be stretched in front of the breach, painted in 
imitation of stone, and indented with battlements, so as 
at a distance to resemble the other parts of the walls: 
behind this screen he employed workmen, day and night, 
in repairing the fracture. No one was permitted to leave 
the fortress, lest information of its defenseless plight 
should be carried to the Moor. Light squadrons of the 
enemy were seen hovering about the plain, but never ap¬ 
proached near enough to discover the deception; and 
thus, in the course of a few days, the wall was rebuilt 
stronger than before. 

There was another expedient of this shrewd veteran, 
which greatly excites the marvel of Agapida. “ It hap¬ 
pened,” he observes, “ that this Catholic cavalier at one 
time was destitute of gold and silver, wherewith to pay 
the wages of his troops; and the soldiers murmured 


214 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


greatly, seeing that they had not the means of purchas¬ 
ing necessaries from the people of the town. In this 
dilemma, what does this most sagacious commander? 
He takes me a number of little morsels of paper, on the 
which he inscribes various sums, large and small, accord¬ 
ing to the nature of the case, and signs me them with his 
own hand and name. These did he give to the soldiery, 
in earnest of their pay. 4 How ! 5 you will say, 4 are sol¬ 
diers to be paid with scraps of paper ? ’ Even so, I an¬ 
swer, and well paid too, as I will presently make mani¬ 
fest : for the good count issued a proclamation, ordering 
the inhabitants of Alhama to take these morsels of paper 
for the full amount thereon inscribed, promising to re¬ 
deem them at a future time with silver and gold, and 
threatening severe punishment to all who should refuse. 
The people, having full confidence in his word, and trust¬ 
ing that he would be as willing to perform the one 
promise as he certainly was able to perform the other, 
took those curious morsels of paper without hesitation 
or demur. Thus, by a subtle and most miraculous kind 
of alchemy, did this Catholic cavalier turn worthless pa¬ 
per into precious gold, and make his late impoverished 
garrison abound in money ! ” 

It is but just to add, that the count de Tendilla re¬ 
deemed his promises, like a loyal knight; and this miracle 
as it appeared in the eyes of Fray Antonio Agapida, is the 
first instance on record of paper money, which has since 
inundated the civilized world with unbounded opulence. 


CHAPTER XXVIL 


PORAT OP CHRISTIAN KNIGHTS INTO THE TERRITORY OP THE MOORS. 


HE Spanish cavaliers who had survived the 
memorable massacre among the mountains of 
Malaga, although they had repeatedly avenged 
the death of their companions, could not forget the hor¬ 
ror and humiliation of their defeat. Nothing would sat¬ 
isfy them but a second expedition of the kind, to carry 
fire and sword throughout a wide part of the Moorish 
territories, and leave the region which had triumphed 
in their disaster a black and burning monument of their 
vengeance. Their wishes accorded with the policy of 
the king, to destroy the resources of the enemy; every 
assistance was therefore given to their enterprise. 

In the spring of 1484, the ancient city of Antiquera 
again resounded with arms; numbers of the same cava¬ 
liers who had assembled there so gayly the preceding 
year, came wheeling into the gates with their steeled and 
shining warriors, but with a more dark and solemn brow 
than on that disastrous occasion, for they had the recol¬ 
lection of their slaughtered friends present to their 
minds, whose deaths they were to avenge. 



215 







216 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


In a little while there was a chosen force of six thou¬ 
sand horse and twelve thousand foot assembled in Anti- 
quera, many of them the very flower of Spanish chivalry, 
troops of the established military and religious orders, 
and of the Holy Brotherhood. 

Precautions had been taken to furnish this army with 
all things needful for its perilous inroad. Numerous 
surgeons accompanied it, who were to attend upon the 
sick and wounded, without charge, being paid for their 
services by the queen. Isabella also, in her considerate 
humanity, provided six spacious tents furnished with 
beds and all things needful for the wounded and infirm. 
These continued to be used in all great expeditions 
throughout the war, and were called the Queen’s Hos¬ 
pital. The worthy father, Fray Antonio Agapida, vaunts 
this benignant provision of the queen, as the first intro¬ 
duction of a regular camp hospital in campaigning service. 

Thus thoroughly prepared, the cavaliers issued forth 
from Antiquera in splendid and terrible array, but with 
less exulting confidence and vaunting ostentation than on 
their former foray; and this was the order of the army. 
Don Alonzo de Aguilar led the advance guard, accompa¬ 
nied by Don Diego Fernandez de Cordova, the alcayde 
de los Donceles, and Luis Fernandez Puerto Carrero, 
count of Palma, with their household troops. They were 
followed by Juan de Merlo, Juan de Almara, and Carlos 
de Biezman, of the Holy Brotherhood, with the men-at- 
arms of their captaincies. 




ANOTHER FORAY AGAINST THE MOORS. 217 


The second battalion was commanded by the marqnes 
kA Cadiz and the Master of Santiago, with the cavaliers 
of Santiago and the troops of the house of Ponce Leon; 
with these also went the senior commander gf Calatrava 
and the knights of that order, and various other cavaliers 
and their retainers. 

The right wing of this second battalion was led by 
Gonsalvo de Cordova, afterwards renowned as grand cap¬ 
tain of Spain; the left by Diego Lopez de Avila. They 
were accompanied by several distinguished cavaliers, and 
certain captains of the Holy Brotherhood, with their 
men-at-arms. 

The duke of Medina Sidonia and the count de Cabra 
commanded the third battalion, with the troops of their 
respective houses. They were accompanied by other 
commanders of note, with their forces. 

The rear-guard was brought up by the senior com¬ 
mander and knights of Alcantara, followed by the An¬ 
dalusian chivalry from Xeres, Ecija, and Carmona. 

Such was the army that issued forth from the gates of 
Antiquera, on one of the most extensive talas, or devas¬ 
tating inroads, that ever laid waste the kingdom of Gra¬ 
nada. 

The army entered the Moorish territory by the way of 
Alora, destroying all the corn-fields, vineyards, and or¬ 
chards, and plantations of olives, round that city. It 
then proceeded through the rich valleys and fertile up- 
lap Is of Coin, Cazarabonela, Almexia, and Cartama; and 


218 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


in ten days all those fertile regions were a smoking and 
frightful desert. Hence it pursued its slow and destruc¬ 
tive course, like the stream of lava of a volcano, through 
the regions, of Pupiana and Alhendin, and so on to 
the vega of Malaga, laying waste the groves of olives 
and almonds, and the fields of grain, and destroying 
every green thing. The Moors of some of those places 
interceded in vain for their groves and fields, offering to 
deliver up their Christian captives. One part of the 
army blockaded the towns, while the other ravaged the 
surrounding country. Sometimes the Moors sallied forth 
desperately to defend their property, but were driven 
back to their gates with slaughter and their suburbs pil¬ 
laged and burnt. It was an awful spectacle at night to 
behold the volumes of black smoke mingled with lurid 
flames rising from the burning suburbs, and the women 
on the walls of the town wringing their hands and 
shrieking at the desolation of their dwellings. 

The destroying army, on arriving at the sea-coast, 
found vessels lying off shore laden with all kinds of pro¬ 
visions and munitions sent from Seville and Xeres, and 
was thus enabled to continue its desolating career. Ad¬ 
vancing to the neighborhood of Malaga, it was bravely 
assailed by the Moors of that city, and there was severe 
skirmishing for a whole day ; but while the main part of 
the army encountered the enemy, the rest ravaged the 
whole vega and destroyed all the mills. As the object of 
the expedition was not to capture places, but merely to 


DESOLATION OF TEE VEGA. 


219 


burn, ravage, and destroy, the host, satisfied with the 
mischief they had done in the vega, turned their backs 
upon Malaga, and again entered the mountains. They 
passed by Coin, and through the regions of Allazayna, 
and Gatero, and Alhaurin ; all which were likewise deso¬ 
lated. In this way did they make the circuit of a chain 
of rich and verdant valleys, the glory of those mountains 
and the pride and delight of the Moors. For forty days 
did they continue on like a consuming fire, leaving a 
smoking and howling waste to mark their course, until, 
weary with the work of destruction, and having fully 
sated their revenge for the massacre of the Axarquia, 
they returned in triumph to the meadows of Antiquera. 

In the month of June, King Ferdinand took command 
in person of this destructive army; he increased its 
force, and added to its means of mischief several lom¬ 
bards and other heavy artillery, intended for the batter¬ 
ing of towns, and managed by engineers from France and 
Germany. With these, the marques of Cadiz assured the 
king, he would soon be able to reduce the Moorish fort¬ 
resses, which were only calculated for defense against 
the engines anciently used in warfare. Their walls and 
towers were high and thin, depending for security on 
their rough and rocky situations. The stone and iron 
balls thundered from the lombards would soon tumble 
them in ruins upon the heads of their defenders. 

The fate of Alora speedily proved the truth of this 
opinion. It was strongly posted on a rock washed by a 


220 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


river. The artillery soon battered down two of the 
towers and a part of the wall. The Moors were thrown 
into consternation at the vehemence of the assault, and 
the effect of those tremendous engines upon their vaunt¬ 
ed bulwarks. The roaring of the artillery and the tum¬ 
bling of the walls terrified the women, who beset the 
alcayde with vociferous supplications to surrender. The 
place was given up on the 20th of June, on condition that 
the inhabitants might depart with their effects. The 
people of Malaga, as yet unacquainted with the power of 
this battering ordnance, were so incensed at those of 
Alora for what they considered a tame surrender, that 
they would not admit them into their city. 

A similar fate attended the town of Setenil, built on a 
lofty rock, and esteemed impregnable. Many times had 
it been besieged under former Christian kings, but never 
taken. Even now, for several days the artillery was di¬ 
rected against it without effect, and many of the cavaliers 
murmured at the marques of Cadiz for having counseled 
the king to attack this unconquerable place.* 

On the same night that these reproaches were uttered, 
the marques directed the artillery himself: he leveled the 
lombards at the bottom of the walls and at the gates. In 
a little while the gates were battered to pieces, a great 
breach was effected in the walls, and the Moors were fain 
to capitulate. Twenty-four Christian captains, who had 


* Cura de, los Palacios. 


DISMAY OF MULEY ABUL HAS SAN. 


221 


been taken in the defeat of the mountains of Malaga, 
’tfere rescued from the dungeons of this fortress, and 
hailed the marques as their deliverer. 

Needless is it to mention the capture of various other 
places, which surrendered without waiting to be attacked. 
The Moors had always shown great bravery and per¬ 
severance in defending their towns; they were formidable 
in their sallies and skirmishes, and patient in enduring 
hunger and thirst when besieged; but this terrible ord¬ 
nance, which demolished their walls with such ease and 
rapidity, overwhelmed them with dismay, and rendered 
vain all resistance. King Ferdinand was so struck with 
the effect of this artillery, that he ordered the number of 
lombards to be increased; and these potent engines had 
henceforth a great influence on the fortunes of this war. 

The last operation of this year, so disastrous to the 
Moors, was an inroad by Ferdinand, in the latter part of 
summer, into the vega, in which he ravaged the country, 
burned two villages near to Granada, and destroyed the 
mills near the very gates of the city. 

Old Muley Abul Hassan was overwhelmed with dismay 
at the desolation which, during the whole year, had raged 
throughout his territories, and had now reached the walls 
of his capital. His fierce spirit was broken by misfor¬ 
tunes and infirmity ; he offered to purchase a peace, and 
to hold his crown as a tributary vassal. Ferdinand would 
listen to no propositions: the absolute conquest of Gra¬ 
nada was the great object of this war, and he was resolved 


222 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


never to rest content without its complete fulfillment. 
Having supplied and strengthened the garrisons of the 
places taken in the heart of the Moorish territories, he 
enjoined their commanders to render every assistance to 
the younger Moorish king, in the civil war against his 
father. He then returned with his army to Cordova, in 
great triumph, closing a series of ravaging campaigns, 
which had filled the kingdom of Granada with grief and 
consternation. 


CHAPTEE XXVm. 


ATTEMPT OF EL ZAGAL TO SURPRISE BOABDIL IN ALMERIA. 


UEING this year of sorrow and disaster to the 
Moors, the younger king Boabdil, most truly 
called the Unfortunate, held a diminished and 
feeble court in the maritime city of Almeria. He retain¬ 
ed little more than the name of king, and was supported 
in even this shadow of royalty by the countenance and 
treasures of the Castilian sovereigns. Still he trusted 
that, in the fluctuation of events, the inconstant nation 
might once more return to his standard, and replace him 
on the throne of the Alhambra. 

His mother, the high-spirited sultana, Ayxa la Horra, 
endeavored to rouse him from this passive state. “ It is 
a feeble mind,” said she, “ that waits for the turn of for¬ 
tune’s wheel; the brave.mind seizes upon it, and turns it 
to its purpose. Take the field, and you may drive dan¬ 
ger before you; remain cowering at home, and it besieges 
you in your dwelling. By a bold enterprise, you may 
regain your splendid throne in Granada; by passive for¬ 
bearance, you will forfeit even this miserable throne in 
Almeria.” 





224 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


Boabdil had not the force of soul to follow these courar- 
geous counsels, and in a little time the evils his mother 
had predicted fell upon him. 

Old Muley Abul Hassan was almost extinguished by 
age and paralysis. He had nearly lost his sight, and was 
completely bed-ridden. His brother, Abdallah, surnam- 
ed El Zagal, or the Valiant, the same who had assisted 
in the massacre of the Spanish chivalry among the moun¬ 
tains of Malaga, was commander-in-chief of the Moorish 
armies, and gradually took upon himself most of the 
cares of sovereignty. Among other things, he was par¬ 
ticularly zealous in espousing his brother’s quarrel with 
his son; and he prosecuted it with such vehemence, that 
many affirmed there was something more than mere 
fraternal sympathy at the bottom of his zeal. 

The disasters and disgraces inflicted on the country by 
the Christians during this year had wounded the national 
feelings of the people of Almeria; and many felt indig¬ 
nant that Boabdil should remain passive at such a time, 
or rather, should appear to make a common cause with 
the enemy. His uncle, Abdallah, diligently fomented 
this feeling by his agents. The 'Same arts were made use 
of that had been successful in Granada. Boabdil was 
secretly but actively denounced by the alfaquis as an 
apostate, leagued with the Christians against his country 
and his early faith; the affections of the populace and 
soldiery were gradually alienated from him, and a deep 
conspiracy concerted for his destruction. 



FLIGHT OF BOABDIL 


225 


In the month of February, 1485, El Zagal suddenly ap¬ 
peared before Almeria, at the head of a troop of horse. 
The alfaquis were prepared for his arrival, and the gates 
were thrown open to him. He entered with his band, 
and galloped to the citadel. The alcayde would have 
made resistance; but the garrison put him to death, and 
received El Zagal with acclamations. The latter rushed 
through the apartments of the Alcazar, but he sought in 
vain for Boabdil. He found the sultana, Ayxa la Horra, 
in one of the saloons, with Aben Haxig, a younger 
brother of the monarch, and several Abencerrages, who 
rallied round them to protect them. “ Where is the trai¬ 
tor Boabdil ? ” exclaimed El Zagal. “ I know no traitor 
more perfidious than thyself,” exclaimed the intrepid 
sultana; “ and I trust my son is in safety, to take ven¬ 
geance on thy treason.” The rage of El Zagal was with¬ 
out bounds when he learned that his intended victim had 
escaped. In his fury he slew the prince Aben Haxig, 
and his followers fell upon and massacred the Abencer¬ 
rages. As to the proud sultana, she was borne away 
prisoner, and loaded with revilings, as having upheld her 
son in his rebellion, and fomented a civil war. 

The unfortunate Boabdil had been apprised of his dan¬ 
ger by a faithful soldier, just in time to make his escape. 
Throwing himself on one of his fleetest horses, and fol¬ 
lowed by a handful of adherents, he galloped in the con¬ 
fusion out of the gates of Almeria. Several of the cav¬ 
alry of El Zagal, stationed without the walls, perceived 
15 


226 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


his flight, and attempted to pursue him : their horses 
were jaded with travel, and he soon left them far behind 
But whither was he to fly ? Every fortress and castle in 
the kingdom of Granada was closed against him; he 
knew not whom among the Moors to trust, for they had 
been taught to detest him as a traitor and an apostate. 
He had no alternative but to seek refuge among the 
Christians, his hereditary enemies. With a heavy heart, 
he turned his horse’s head towards Cordova. He had to 
lurk, like a fugitive, through a part of his own domin¬ 
ions ; nor did he feel himself secure until he had passed 
the frontier, and beheld the mountain barrier of his 
country towering behind him. Then it was that he be¬ 
came conscious of his humiliating state—a fugitive from 
his throne, an outcast from his nation, a king without a 
kingdom. He smote his breast, in an agony of grief: 
“Evil indeed,” exclaimed he, “was the day of my birth, 
and truly was I named El Zogoybi, the Unlucky.” 

He entered the gates of Cordova with downcast coun¬ 
tenance, and with a train of but forty followers. The 
sovereigns were absent; but the cavaliers of Andalusia 
manifested that sympathy in the misfortunes of the mon¬ 
arch which becomes men of lofty and chivalrous souls. 
They received him with great distinction, attended him 
with the utmost courtesy, and he was honorably enter¬ 
tained by the civil and military commanders of that 
ancient city. 

In the meantime, El Zagal put a new alcayde over 


FLIGHT OF BOABDIL. 


227 


Almeria, to govern in the name of his brother; and, hav¬ 
ing strongly garrisoned the place, repaired to Malaga, 
where an attack of the Christians was apprehended. 
The young monarch being driven out of the land, and 
the old monarch blind and bed-ridden, El Zagal, at the 
head of the armies, was virtually the sovereign of Gra¬ 
nada. He was supported by the brave and powerful 
family of the Alnayans and Venegas; the people were 
pleased with having a new idol to look up to, and a new 
name to shout forth; and El Zagal was hailed with 
acclamations, as the main hope of the nation* 


a 


CHAPTER XXIX. 


HOW KING FERDINAND COMMENCED ANOTHER CAMPAIGN AGAINST THU 
MOORS, AND HOW HE LAID SIEGE TO COIN AND CARTAMA. 



HE recent effect of the battering ordnance in 
demolishing the Moorish fortresses, induced 
king Ferdinand to procure a powerful train for 
the campaign of 1485, intending to assault some of the 
most formidable holds of the enemy. An army of nine 
thousand cavalry and twenty thousand infantry assem¬ 
bled at Cordova, early in the spring ; and the king took 
the field on the 5th of April. It had been determined in 
secret council, to attack the city of Malaga, that ancient 
and important seaport, on which Granada depended for 
foreign aid and supplies. It was thought proper pre¬ 
viously, however, to get possession of various towns and 
fortresses in the valleys of Santa Maria and Cartama, 
through which pass the roads to Malaga. 

The first place assailed was the town of Benamexi or 
Bonameji. It had submitted to the Catholic sovereigns 
in the preceding year, but had since renounced its alle¬ 
giance. King Ferdinand was enraged at the rebellion of 
the inhabitants. “ I will make their punishment,” said 

228 






SIEGE OF COIN. 


229 


he, “ a terror to others : they shall be loyal through 
force, if not through faith.” The place was carried by 
storm : one hundred and eight of the principal inhab¬ 
itants were either put to the sword or hanged on the 
battlements : the rest were carried into captivity.* 

The towns of Coin and Cartama were besieged on the 
same day ; the first by a division of the army led on by 
the marques of Cadiz, the second by another division 
commanded by Don Alonzo de Aguilar and Louis Fer¬ 
nandez Puerto Carrero, the brave senior of Palma. The 
king, with the rest of the army, remained posted between 
the two places, to render assistance to either division. 
The batteries opened upon both places at the same time, 
and the thunder of the lombards was mutually heard 
from one camp to the other. The Moors made frequent 
sallies and a valiant defense ; but they were confounded 
by the tremendous uproar of the batteries, and the de¬ 
struction of their walls. In the mean time, the alarm 
fires gathered together the Moorish mountaineers of all 
the Serrania, who assembled in great numbers in the 
city of Monda, about a league from Coin. They made 
several attempts to enter the besieged town, but in vain: 
they were each time intercepted and driven back by the 
Christians, and were reduced to gaze at a distance in 
despair on the destruction of the place. While thus 
situated, there rode one day into Monda a fierce and 


* Pulgar, Graribay, Cura de los Palacios. 


230 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


haughty Moorish chieftain, at the head of a band of 
swarthy African horsemen : it was Hamet el Zegri, the 
fiery spirited alcayde of Ronda, at the head of his band 
of Gomeres. He had not yet recovered from the rage 
and mortification of his defeat on the banks of the 
Lopera, in the disastrous foray of old Bexir, when he 
had been obliged to steal back furtively to his moun¬ 
tains, with the loss of the bravest of his followers. He 
had ever since panted for revenge. He now rode among 
the host of warriors assembled at Monda. “ Who among 
you,” cried he, “ feels pity for the women and children 
of Coin, exposed to captivity and death ? Whoever he 
is, let him follow me, who am ready to die as a Moslem 
for the relief of Moslems.” So saying, he seized a white 
banner, and, waving it over his head, rode forth from 
the town, followed by the Gomeres. Many of the war¬ 
riors, roused by his words and his example, spurred reso¬ 
lutely after his banner. The people of Coin, being pre¬ 
pared for this attempt, sallied forth as they saw the 
white banner, and made an attack upon the Christian 
camp ; and in the confusion of the moment, Hamet and 
his followers galloped into the gates. This reinforce¬ 
ment animated the besieged, and Hamet exhorted them 
to hold out obstinately in defense of life and town. As 
the Gomeres were veteran warriors, the more they were 
attacked the harder they fought. 

At length, a great breach was made in the walls, and 
Ferdinand, who was impatient of tbe resistance of the 


SIEGE OF COIN. 


231 


place, ordered the duke of Naxara and the count of Be- 
navente to enter with their troops; and as their forces 
were not sufficient, he sent word to Louis de Cerda, duke 
of Medina Celi, to send a part of his people to their 
assistance. 

The feudal pride of the duke was roused at this de¬ 
mand. “ Tell my lord the king,” said the haughty gran¬ 
dee, “that I have come to succor him with my house¬ 
hold troops : if my people are ordered to any place, I 
am to go with them ; but if I am to remain in the camp, 
my people must remain with me. For the troops cannot 
serve without their commander, nor their commander 
without his troops.” 

The reply of the high-spirited grandee perplexed the 
cautious Ferdinand, who knew the jealous pride of his 
powerful nobles. In the meantime, the people of the 
camp, having made all preparations for the assault, were 
impatient to be led forward. Upon this, Pero Kuyz de 
Alarcon put himself at their head, and, seizing their man¬ 
tas, or portable bulwarks, and their other defenses, they 
made a gallant assault, and fought their way in at the 
breach. The Moors were so overcome by the fury of 
their assault, that they retreated, fighting, to the square 
of the town. Pero Ruyz de Alarcon thought the place 
was carried, when suddenly Hamet and his Gomeres came 
scouring through the streets with wild war-cries, and fell 
furiously upon the Christians. The latter were in their 
turn beaten back, and, while attacked in the front by the 


232 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


Gomeres, were assailed by the inhabitants with all kinds 
of missiles from their roofs and windows. They at length 
gave way and retreated through the breach. Pero Ruyz 
de Alarcon still maintained his ground in one of the prin¬ 
cipal streets—the few cavaliers that stood by him urged 
him to fly : “ No,” said he; “ I came here to fight, and not 
to fly.” He was presently surrounded by the Gomeres; 
his companions fled for their lives; the last they saw of 
him, he was covered with wounds, but still fighting des¬ 
perately for the fame of a good cavalier.* 

The resistance of the inhabitants, though aided by the 
valor of the Gomeres, w~as of no avail. The battering 
artillery of the Christians demolished their walls; com¬ 
bustibles thrown into their town, set it on fire in various 
places; and they were at length compelled to capitulate. 
They were permitted to depart with their effects, and 
the Gomeres with their arms. Hamet el Zegri and his 
African band rode proudly through the Christian camp; 
nor could the Spanish cavaliers refrain from regarding 
with admiration that haughty warrior and his devoted 
and dauntless followers. 

The capture of Coin was accompanied by that of 
Cartama: the fortifications of the latter were repaired 
and garrisoned; but Coin, being too extensive to be de¬ 
fended by a moderate force, its walls were demolished. 
The siege of these places struck such terror into the 


Pulgar, pt. 3, cap. 42. 


SIEGE OF MALAGA RAISED. 


233 


surrounding country, that tlie Moors of many of the 
neighboring towns abandoned their homes, and fled with 
such of their effects as they could carry away; upon 
which the king gave order to demolish fcheir walls and 
towers. 

King Ferdinand now left his camp and his heavy artil¬ 
lery near Cartama, and proceeded with his lighter troops 
to reconnoitre Malaga. By this time, the secret plan of 
attack, arranged in the council of war at Cordova, was 
known to all the world. The vigilant warrior, El Zagal, 
had thrown himself into the place, put all the fortifica¬ 
tions, which were of vast strength, into a state of defense, 
and sent orders to the alcaydes of the mountain towns, 
to hasten with their forces to his assistance. 

The very day that Ferdinand appeared before the 
place, El Zagal sallied forth to receive him, at the head 
of a thousand cavalry, the choicest warriors of Granada. 
A sharp skirmish took place among the gardens and 
olive-trees near the city. Many were killed on both 
sides; and this gave the Christians a foretaste of what 
they might expect, if they attempted to besiege the 
place. 

When the skirmish was over, the marques of Cadiz 
had a private conference with the king. He represented 
the difficulty of besieging Malaga with their present 
force, especially as their plans had been discovered and 
anticipated, and the whole country was marching to 
oppose them. The marques, who had secret intelligence 


234 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


from all quarters, had received a letter from Juceph 
Xerife, a Moor of Honda, of Christian lineage, apprising 
him of the situation of that important place and its gar¬ 
rison, which at that moment laid it open to attack; and 
the marques was urgent with the king to seize upon this 
critical moment, and secure a place which was one of the 
most powerful Moorish fortresses on the frontiers, and in 
the hands of Hamet el Zegri had been the scourge of 
Andalusia. The good marques had another motive for 
his advice, becoming of a true and loyal knight. In the 
deep dungeons of Honda languished several of his com¬ 
panions in arms, who had been captured in the defeat in 
the Axarquia. To break their chains, and restore them 
to liberty and light, he felt to be his peculiar duty, as 
one of those who had most promoted that disastrous 
enterprise. 

King Ferdinand listened to the advice of the marques. 
He knew the importance of Honda, which was considered 
one of the keys to the kingdom of Granada; and he was 
disposed to punish the inhabitants, for the aid they had 
rendered to the garrison of Coin. The siege of Malaga, 
therefore, was abandoned for the present, and prepara¬ 
tions made for a rapid and secret move against the city 
of Honda. 


CHAPTER XXX. 


SIEGE OF RONDA. 

HE bold Hamet el Zegri, the alcayde of Ronda, 
had returned sullenly to his stronghold after 
the surrender of Coin. He had fleshed his 
sword in battle with the Christians, but his thirst for 
vengeance was still unsatisfied. Hamet gloried in the 
strength of his fortress, and the valor of his people. A 
fierce and warlike populace was at his command; his 
signal-fires could summon all the warriors of the Ser- 
fania; his Gomeres almost subsisted on the spoils of 
Andalusia; and in the rock on which his fortress was 
built, were hopeless dungeons, filled with Christian cap¬ 
tives, carried off by these war-hawks of the mountains. 

Ronda was considered as impregnable. It was situated 
in the heart of wild and rugged mountains, and perched 
upon an isolated rock, crested by a strong citadel, with 
triple walls and towers. A deep ravine, or rather a per¬ 
pendicular chasm of the rocks, of frightful depth, sur¬ 
rounded three parts of the city ; through this flowed the 
Rio Verde, or Green River. There were two suburbs to 

the city, fortified by walls and towers, and almost inac- 

235 





236 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


cessible, from tlie natural asperity of the rocks. Around 
this rugged city were deep, rich valleys, sheltered by the 
mountains, refreshed by constant streams, abounding 
with grain and the most delicious fruits, and yielding 
verdant meadows, in which was reared a renowned breed 
of horses, the best in the whole kingdom for a foray. 

Hamet el Zegri had scarcely returned to Ronda, when 
he received intelligence that the Christian army was 
marching to the siege of Malaga, and orders from El Za- 
gal to send troops to his assistance. Hamet sent a part 
of his garrison for that purpose; in the meantime, he 
meditated an expedition to which he was stimulated by 
pride and revenge. All Andalusia was now drained of 
its troops; there was an opportunity therefore for an in¬ 
road, by which he might wipe out the disgrace of his de¬ 
feat at the battle of Lopera. Apprehending no danger to 
his mountain city, now that the storm of war had passed 
down into the vega of Malaga, he left but a remnant of 
his garrison to man its wails, and, putting himself at the 
head of his band of Gomeres, swept down suddenly into 
the plains of Andalusia. He careered, almost without 
resistance, over those vast campihas or pasture lands, 
which formed a part of the domains of the duke of Me¬ 
dina Sidonia. In vain the bells were rung, and the alarm 
fires kindled—the band of Hamet had passed by, before 
any force could be assembled, and was only to be traced, 
like a hurricane, by the devastation it had made. 

Hamet regained in safety the Serrania de Ronda, exult- 


SIEGE OF RONDA. 


237 


ing m his successful inroad. The mountain glens were 
filled with long droves of cattle and flocks of sheep, from 
the campinas of Medina Sidonia. There were mules, too, 
laden with the plunder of the villages ; and every warrior 
had some costly spoil of jewels, for his favorite mistress. 

As the Zegri drew near to Honda, he was roused from 
his dream of triumph by the sound of heavy ordnance 
bellowing through the mountain defiles. His heart mis¬ 
gave him—he put spurs to his horse, and galloped in 
advance of his lagging cavalgada. As he proceeded, the 
noise of the ordnance increased, echoing from cliff to 
cliff. Spurring his horse up a craggy height which com¬ 
manded an extensive view, he beheld, to his consterna¬ 
tion, the country about Honda white with the tents of a 
besieging army. The royal standard, displayed before a 
proud encampment, showed that Ferdinand himself was 
present; while the incessant blaze and thunder of artil¬ 
lery, and the volumes of overhanging smoke, told the 
work of destruction that was going on. 

The royal army had succeeded in coming upon Honda 
by surprise, during the absence of its alcayde and most 
of its garrison; but its inhabitants were warlike, and de¬ 
fended themselves bravely, trusting that Hamet and his 
Gomeres would soon return to their assistance. 

The fancied strength of their bulwarks had been of 
little avail against the batteries of the besiegers. In the 
space of four days, three towers, and great masses of the 
walls which defended the suburbs, were battered down, 


238 


CONQ UEST OF GRANADA. 


and the suburbs taken and plundered. Lombards and 
other heavy ordnance were now leveled at the walls of 
the city, and stones and missiles of all kinds hurled into 
the streets. The very rock on which the city stood shook 
with the thunder of the artillery ; and the Christian cap¬ 
tives, deep within its dungeons, hailed the sound as the 
promise of deliverance. 

When Hamet el Zegri beheld his city thus surrounded 
and assailed, he called upon his men to follow him, and 
cut their way through to its relief. They proceeded 
stealthily through the mountains, until they came to the 
nearest heights above the Christian camp. When night 
fell, and part of the army was sunk in sleep, they de¬ 
scended the rocks, and, rushing suddenly upon the weak¬ 
est part of the camp, endeavored to break their way 
through and gain the city. The camp was too strong to 
be forced; they were driven back to the crags of the 
mountains, whence they defended themselves by shower¬ 
ing down darts and stones upon their pursuers. 

Hamet now lit alarm-fires about the heights; his 
standard was joined by the neighboring mountaineers, 
and by troops from Malaga. Thus reinforced, he made 
repeated assaults upon the Christians, cutting off all 
stragglers from the camp. All his attempts to force his 
way into the city, however, were fruitless; many of his 
bravest men were slain, and he was obliged to retreat 
into the fastnesses of the mountains. 

In the meanwhile, the distress of Bonda increased 


SIEGE OF HONDA. 


239 


hourly. The marques of Cadiz, having possession of the 
suburbs, was enabled to approach to the very foot of the 
perpendicular precipice rising from the river, on the 
summit of which the city is built. At the foot of this 
rock is a living fountain of limpid water, gushing into a 
great natural basin. A secret mine led down from within 
the city to this fountain, by several hundred steps cut 
in the solid rock. Hence the city obtained its chief sup¬ 
ply of water; and these steps were deeply worn by the 
weary feet of Christian captives, employed in this painful 
labor. The marques of Cadiz discovered this subterra¬ 
neous passage, and directed his pioneers to countermine 
in the side of the rock; they pierced to the shaft, and, 
stopping it up, deprived the city of the benefit of this 
precious fountain. 

While the marques was thus pressing the siege with 
the generous thought of soon delivering his companions 
in arms from the Moorish dungeons, far other were the 
feelings of the alcayde, Hamet el Zegri. He smote his 
breast and gnashed his teeth in impotent fury, as he be¬ 
held from the mountain cliffs the destruction of the city. 
Every thunder of the Christian ordnance seemed to bat¬ 
ter against his heart. He saw tower after tower tumbling 
by day, and various parts of the city in a blaze at night. 
“ They fired not merely stones from their ordnance,” 
says a chronicler of the times, “but likewise great balls 
of iron, cast in moulds, which demolished everything 
they struck.” They threw also balls of tow, steeped in 


240 CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 

pitch and oil and gunpowder, which, when once on fire, 
were not to be extinguished, and which set the houses in 
flames. Great was the horror of the inhabitants: they 
knewnot where to fly for refuge: their houses were in a 
blaze, or shattered by the ordnance; the streets were 
perilous from the falling ruins and the bounding balls, 
which dashed to pieces everything they encountered. At 
night, the city looked like a fiery furnace; the cries and 
wailings of the women between the thunders of the 
ordnance, reached even to the Moors on the opposite 
mountains, who answered them by yells of fury and de* 
spair. 

All hope of external succor being at an end, the in¬ 
habitants of Honda were compelled to capitulate. Fer¬ 
dinand was easily prevailed upon to grant them favorable 
terms. The place was capable of longer resistance; and 
he feared for the safety of his camp, as the forces were 
daily augmenting on the mountains, and making frequent 
assaults. The inhabitants were permitted to depart with 
their effects, either to Barbary, Granada, or elsewhere; 
and those who chose to reside in Spain had lands as¬ 
signed them, and were indulged in the practice of their 
religion. 

No sooner did the place surrender, than detachments 
were sent to attack the Moors who hovered about the 
neighboring mountains. Hamet el Zegri, however, did 
not remain to make a fruitless battle. He gave up the 
game as lost, and retreated with his Gomeres, filled with 






TROPHIES AND CAPTIVES. 


241 


grief and rage, but trusting to fortune to give him future 
vengeance. 

The first care of the good marques of Cadiz, on enter¬ 
ing Honda, was to deliver his unfortunate companions in 
arms from the dungeons of the fortress. What a differ¬ 
ence in their looks from the time when, flushed with 
health and hope, and arrayed in military pomp, they had 
sallied forth upon the mountain foray! Many of them 
were almost naked, with irons at their ankles, and beards 
reaching to their waists. Their meeting with the mar¬ 
ques was joyful; yet it had the look of grief, for their joy 
was mingled with many bitter recollections. There was 
an immense number of other captives, among whom were 
several young men of noble families, who, with filial 
piety, had surrendered themselves prisoners in place of 
their fathers. 

The captives were all provided with mules, and sent to 
the queen at Cordova. The humane heart of Isabella 
melted at the sight of the piteous cavalcade. They were 
all supplied by her with food and raiment, and money to 
pay their expenses to their homes. Their chains were 
hung as pious trophies against the exterior of the church 
of St. Juan de los Reyes, in Toledo, where the Christian 
traveller may regale his eyes with the sight of them at 
this very day* 

Among the Moorish captives was a young infidel maiden, 


16 


* Seen by the author in 1826, 


242 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


of great beauty, who desired to become a Christian and 
to remain in Spain. She had been inspired with the 
light of the true faith through the ministry of a young 
man who had been a captive in Honda. He was anxious 
to complete his good work by marrying her. The queen 
consented to their pious wishes, having first taken care 
that the young maiden should be properly purified by 
the holy sacrament of baptism. 

“ Thus this pestilent nest of warfare and infidelity, the 
city of Honda,” says the worthy Fray Antonio Agapida, 
“ was converted to the true faith by the thunder of our 
artillery—an example which was soon followed by Ca- 
sarabonela, Marbella, and other towns in these parts, 
insomuch that in the course of this expedition no less 
than seventy-two places were rescued from the vile sect 
of Mahomet, and placed under the benignant domination 
of the cross.” 



CHAPTER XX VT. 


HOW THE PEOPLE OF GRANADA INVITED EL ZAGAL TO THE THRONE, ANH 
HOW HE MARCHED TO THE CAPITAL. 


HE people of Granada were a versatile, un 
steady race, and exceedingly given to make and 
unmake kings. They had, for a long time, va- 
ciliated between old Muley Abnl Hassan and his son, Bo- 
abdil el Chico ; sometimes setting up the one, sometimes 
the other, and sometimes both at once, according to the 
pinch and pressure of external evils. They found, how¬ 
ever, that the evils still went on increasing, in defiance of 
every change, and were at their wits’ end to devise some 
new combination or arrangement, by which an efficient 
government might be wrought out of two bad kings. 
When the tidings arrived of the fall of Honda, and the 
consequent ruin of the frontier, a tumultuous assemblage 
took place in one of the public squares. As usual, the 
people attributed the misfortunes of the country to the 
faults of their rulers; for the populace never imagine 
that any part of their miseries can originate with them¬ 
selves. A crafty alfaqui, named Alyme Mazer, who had 
watched the current of their discontents, rose and ha- 

243 










244 CONQUEST OF OBAN AD A. 

rangued them: “You have been choosing and changing,” 
said he, “ between two monarchs—and who and what are 
they? Muley Abul Hassan, for one ; a man worn out by 
age and infirmities, unable to sally forth against the foe, 
even when ravaging to the very gates of the city: and 
Boabdil el Chico, for the other; an apostate, a traitor, a 
deserter from his throne, a fugitive among the enemies of 
his nation, a man fated to misfortune, and proverbially 
named ‘the unlucky.’ In a time of overwhelming war, 
like the present, he only is fit to sway a sceptre who can 
wield a sword. Would you seek such a man? You need 
not look far. Allah has sent such a one, in this time of 
distress, to retrieve the fortunes of Granada. You al¬ 
ready know whom I mean. You know that it can be no 
other than your general, the invincible Abdallah, whose 
surname of El Zagal has become a watchword in battle, 
rousing the courage of the faithful, and striking terror 
into the unbelievers.” 

The multitude received the words of the alfaqui with 
acclamations; they were delighted with the idea of a 
third king over Granada; and Abdallah el Zagal being 
of the royal family, and already in the virtual exercise of 
royal power, the measure had nothing in it that appeared 
either rash or violent. A deputation was therefore sent 
to El Zagal at Malaga, inviting him to repair to Granada 
to receive the crown. 

El Zagal expressed great surprise and repugnance, 
when the mission was announced to him; and nothing 


EL ZAGAL ACCEPTS THE CROWN. 


245 


but bis patriotic zeal for tbe public safety, and bis fra¬ 
ternal eagerness to relieve tbe aged Abul Hassan from 
tbe cares of government, prevailed upon bim to accept 
tbe offer. Leaving, therefore, Reduax Yanegas, one of 
tbe bravest Moorish generals, in command of Malaga, be 
departed for Granada, attended by three hundred trusty 
cavaliers. 

Muley Abul Hassan did not wait for tbe arrival of his 
brother. Unable any longer to buffet with tbe storms of 
tbe times, bis only solicitude was to seek some safe and 
quiet harbor of repose. In one of tbe deep valleys which 
indent tbe Mediterranean coast, and which are shut up 
on tbe land side by stupendous mountains, stood tbe 
little city of Almunecar. Tbe valley was watered by tbe 
limpid river Frio, and abounded with fruits, with grain 
and pasturage. Tbe city was strongly fortified, and tbe 
garrison and alcayde were devoted to tbe old monarch. 
This was tbe place chosen by Muley Abul Hassan for bis 
asylum. His first care was to send thither all bis treas¬ 
ures ; his next care was to take refuge there himself; bis 
third, that bis sultana Zoraya, and their two sons, should 
follow bim. 

In tbe meantime, Muley Abdallah el Zagal pursued 
bis journey towards tbe capital, attended by bis three 
hundred cavaliers. The road from Malaga to Granada 
winds close by Alhama, and is dominated by that* lofty 
fortress. This bad been a most perilous pass for tbe 
Moors, during tbe time that Alhama was commanded by 


246 


CONQUEST OF OBAN AD A. 


the count de Tendilla: not a traveller could escape his 
eagle eye, and his garrison was ever ready for a sally. 
The count de Tendilla, however, had been relieved from 
this arduous post, and it had been given in charge to 
Don Gutiere de Padilla, clavero, or treasurer of the 
order of Calatrava; an easy, indulgent man, who had 
with him three hundred gallant knights of his order, 
besides other mercenary troops. The garrison had 
fallen off in discipline ; the cavaliers were hardy in fight 
and daring in foray, but confident in themselves and neg¬ 
ligent of proper precautions. Just before the journey of 
El Zagal, a number of these cavaliers, with several sol¬ 
diers of fortune of the garrison, in all about one hundred 
and seventy men, had sallied forth to harass the Moorish 
country during its present distracted state, and, having 
ravaged the valleys of the Sierra Nevada, or Snowy 
Mountains, were returning to Alhama in gay spirits and 
laden with booty. 

As El Zagal passed through the neighborhood of Al¬ 
hama, he recollected the ancient perils of the road, and 
sent light cerradors in advance, to inspect each rock 
and ravine where a foe might lurk in ambush. One of 
these scouts, overlooking a narrow valley which opened 
upon the road, descried a troop of horsemen on the 
banks of a little stream. They were dismounted, and 
had taken the bridles from their steeds, that they might 
crop the fresh grass on the banks of the river. The 
horsemen were scattered about, some reposing in the 


EL ZAGAL SURPRISES THE CAVALIERS. 247 


shades of rocks and trees, others gambling for the spoil 
they had taken: not a sentinel was posted to keep 
guard; everything showed the perfect security of men 
who consider themselves beyond the reach of danger. 

These careless cavaliers were in fact the knights of 
Calatrava returning from their foray. A part of their 
force had passed on with the cavalgada; ninety of the 
principal cavaliers had halted to refresh themselves in 
this valley. El Zagal smiled with ferocious joy, when he 
heard of their negligent security. “ Here will be tro¬ 
phies,” said he, “ to grace our entrance into Granada.” 

Approaching the valley with cautious silence, he 
wheeled into it at full speed at the head of his troop, 
and attacked the Christians so suddenly, that they had 
not time to put the bridles upon their horses, or even 
to leap into the saddles. They made a confused but 
valiant defense, fighting among the rocks, and in the 
rugged bed of the river. Their defense was useless; 
seventy-nine were slain, and the remaining eleven were 
taken prisoners. 

A party of the Moors galloped in pursuit of the caval¬ 
gada : they soon overtook it, winding slowly up a hill. 
The horsemen who conveyed it, perceiving the enemy at 
a distance, made their escape, and left the spoil to be 
retaken by the Moors. El Zagal gathered together his 
captives and his booty, and proceeded, elate with success, 
to Granada. 

He paused before the gate of Elvira, for as yet he had 


248 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


not been proclaimed king. This ceremony was immedi¬ 
ately performed; for the fame of his recent exploit had 
preceded him, and intoxicated the minds of the giddy 
populace. He entered Granada in a sort of triumph. 
The eleven captive knights of Calatrava walked in front: 
next were paraded the ninety captured steeds, bearing 
the armor and weapons of their late owners, and led by as 
many mounted Moors : then came seventy Moorish horse¬ 
men, with as many Christian heads hanging at their 
saddle-bows: Muley Abdallah followed, surrounded by 
a number of distinguished cavaliers splendidly attired; 
and the pageant was closed by a long cavalgada of the 
flocks and herds, and other booty recovered from the 
Christians.* 

The populace gazed with almost savage triumph at 
these captive cavaliers and the gory heads of their com¬ 
panions, knowing them to have been part of the formi¬ 
dable garrison at Alhama, so long the scourge of Granada 
and the terror of the vega. They hailed this petty tri¬ 
umph as an auspicious opening of the reign of their new 
monarch; for several days, the names of Muley Abul 
Hassan and Boabdil el Chico were never mentioned but 
with contempt, and the whole city resounded with the 
praises of El Zagal, or the Yaliant. 

* Zurita, lib. 20, c. 62. Mariana, Hist, de Espana. Abarca, Anales de 
Aragon , 





CHAPTER XXXIL 

HOW THB COUNT DE CABRA ATTEMPTED TO CAPTURE ANOTHER KINO, AND 
HOW HE FARED IN HIS ATTEMPT. 

HE elevation of a bold and active veteran to 
the throne of Granada, in place of its late 
bed-ridden king, made an important difference 
in the aspect of the war, and called for some blow 
that should dash the confidence of the Moors in their 
new monarch, and animate the Christians to fresh exer¬ 
tions. 

Don Diego de Cordova, the brave count de Cabra, was 
at this time in his castle of Yaena, where he kept a wary 
eye upon the frontier. It was now the latter part of 
August, and he grieved that the summer should pass 
away without an inroad into the country of the foe. He 
sent out his scouts on the prowl, and they brought him 
word that the important post of Moclin was but weakly 
garrisoned. This was a castellated town, strongly situ¬ 
ated upon a high mountain, partly surrounded by thick 
forests, and partly girdled by a river. It defended one 
of the rugged and solitary passes, by which the Chris¬ 
tians were wont to make their inroads ; insomuch that 

249 







250 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


the Moors, in their figurative way, denominated it tho 
shield of Granada. 

The count de Cabra sent word to the monarchs of the 
feeble state of the garrison, and gave it as his opinion, 
that, by a secret and rapid expedition, the place might 
be surprised. King Ferdinand asked the advice of his 
counselors. Some cautioned him against the sanguine 
temperament of the count, and his heedlessness of dan¬ 
ger ; Moclin, they observed, was near to Granada, and 
might be promptly reinforced. The opinion of the 
count, however, prevailed; the king considering him 
almost infallible, in matters of border warfare, since his 
capture of Boabdil el Chico. 

The king departed, therefore, from Cordova, and took 
post at Alcala la Real, for the purpose of being near to 
Moclin. The queen also proceeded to Yaena, accom¬ 
panied by her children, prince Juan and the princess 
Isabella, and her great counselor in all matters, public 
and private, spiritual and temporal, the venerable grand 
cardinal of Spain. 

Nothing could exceed the pride and satisfaction of the 
loyal count de Cabra, when he saw this stately train 
winding along the dreary mountain roads, and entering 
the gates of Yaena. He received his royal guests with 
all due ceremony, and lodged them in the best apart¬ 
ments that the warrior castle afforded. 

King Ferdinand had concerted a wary plan to insure 
the success of the enterprise. The count de Cabra and 


COUNT BE CABBA’S PROJECT. 


251 


Don Martin Alonzo de Montemayor were to set forth 
with their troops, so as to reach Moclin by a certain hour, 
and to intercept all who should attempt to enter, or 
should sally from the town. The master of Calatrava, the 
troops of the grand cardinal, commanded by the count of 
Buendia, and the forces of the bishop of Jaen, led by 
that belligerent prelate, amounting in all to four thou¬ 
sand horse and six thousand foot, were to set off in time 
to cooperate with the count de Cabra, so as to surround 
the town. The king was to follow with his whole force, 
and encamp before the place. 

And here the worthy padre Bray Antonio Agapida 
breaks forth into a triumphant eulogy of the pious prel¬ 
ates, who thus mingled personally in these scenes of 
warfare. As this was a holy crusade (says he), under¬ 
taken for the advancement of the faith and the glory of 
the church, so was it always countenanced and upheld 
by saintly men; for the victories of their most Catholic 
majesties were not followed, like those of mere worldly 
sovereigns, by erecting castles and towers, and appoint¬ 
ing alcaydes and garrisons ; but by the founding of con¬ 
vents and cathedrals, and the establishment of wealthy 
bishoprics. Wherefore their majesties were always sur¬ 
rounded, in court or camp, in the cabinet or in the field, 
by a crowd of ghostly advisers, inspiriting them to the 
prosecution of this most righteous war. Nay, the holy 
men of the church did not scruple, at times, to buckle on 
the cuirass over the cassock, to exchange the crosier for 


252 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


the lance, and thus, with corporal hands and temporal 
weapons, to fight the good fight of the faith. 

But to return from this rhapsody of the worthy friar. 
The count de Cabra, being instructed in the complicated 
arrangements of the king, marched forth at midnight, to 
execute them punctually. He led his troops by the little 
river that winds below Yaena, and so up to the wild de¬ 
files of the mountains, marching all night, and stopping 
only in the heat of the following day, to repose under the 
shadowy cliffs of a deep barranca, calculating to arrive at 
Moclin exactly in time to cooperate with the other forces. 

The troops had scarcely stretched themselves on the 
earth to take repose, when a scout arrived, bringing word 
that El Zagal had suddenly sallied out of Granada with 
a strong force, and had encamped in the vicinity of 
Moclin. It was plain that the wary Moor had received 
information of the intended attack. This, however, was 
not the idea that presented itself to the mind of the 
count de Cabra. He had captured one king—here was a 
fair opportunity to secure another. What a prisoner to 
deliver into the hands of his royal mistress ! Fired with 
the thoughts, the good count forgot all the arrangements 
of the king; or rather, blinded by former success, he 
trusted everything to courage and fortune, and thought 
that, by one bold sweep, he might again bear off the 
royal prize, and wear his laurels without competition-* 


* Mariana, lib. 25, c. 17. Abarca, Zurita, etc. 


ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE EL ZAGAL. 


253 


His only fear was that the master of Calatrava, and the 
belligerent bishop might come up in time to share the 
glory of the victory; so ordering every one to horse, this 
hot-spirited cavalier pushed on for Moclin without allow¬ 
ing his troops the necessary time for repose. 

The evening closed, as the count arrived in the neigh¬ 
borhood of Moclin. It was the full of the moon, and a 
bright and cloudless night. The count was marching 
through one of those deep valleys or ravines, worn in the 
Spanish mountains by the brief but tremendous torrents 
which prevail during the autumnal rains. It was walled 
on each side by lofty and almost perpendicular cliffs, but 
great masses of moonlight were thrown into the bottom 
of the glen, glittering on the armor of the shining squad¬ 
rons, as they silently passed through it. Suddenly the 
war-cry of the Moors rose in various parts of the valley; 
“ El Zagal! El Zagal! ” was shouted from every cliff, 
accompanied by showers of missiles, that struck down 
several of the Christian warriors. The count lifted up 
his eyes, and beheld, by the light of the moon, every cliff 
glistening with Moorish soldiery. The deadly shower 
fell thickly round him, and the shining armor of his fol¬ 
lowers made them fair objects for the aim of the enemy. 
The count saw his brother Gonzalo struck dead by his 
side; his own horse sank under him, pierced by four 
Moorish lances; and he received a wound in the hand 
from an arquebuse. He remembered the horrible mas¬ 
sacre of the mountains of Malaga, and feared a similar 


254 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


catastrophe. There was no time to pause. His brother’s 
horse, freed from his slaughtered rider, was running at 
large ; seizing the reins, he sprang into the saddle, called 
upon his men to follow him, and wheeling round, re¬ 
treated out of the fatal valley. 

The Moors, rushing down from the heights, pursued 
the retreating Christians. The chase endured for a 
league, but it was a league of rough and broken road, 
where the Christians had to turn and fight at almost 
every step. In these short but fierce combats, the enemy 
lost many cavaliers of note; but the loss of the Chris¬ 
tians was infinitely more grievous, comprising numbers of 
the noblest warriors of Yaena and its vicinity. Many of 
the Christians, disabled by wounds or exhausted by fa¬ 
tigue, turned aside and endeavored to conceal themselves 
among rocks and thickets, but never more rejoined their 
companions, being slain or captured by the Moors, or 
perishing in their wretched retreats. 

The arrival of the troops, led by the master of Cala- 
trava and the bishop of Jaen, put an end to the rout. El 
Zagal contented himself with the laurels he had gained, 
and, ordering the trumpets to call off his men from the 
pursuit, returned in great triumph to Moclin.* 

Queen Isabella was at Yaena, awaiting with great anx¬ 
iety the result of the expedition. She was in a stately 
apartment of the castle, looking towards the road that 


* Zurita, lib. 20, c. 4. Pulgar, Cronica. 


TRIUMPH OF EL ZAGAL. 


255 


winds through the mountains from Moclin, and regarding 
the watch-towers on the neighboring heights, in hopes of 
favorable signals. The prince and princess, her chil¬ 
dren, were with her, and her venerable counselor, the 
grand cardinal. All shared in the anxiety of the mo¬ 
ment. At length couriers were seen riding toward the 
town. They entered its gates, but before they reached 
the castle, the nature of their tidings was known to the 
queen, by the shrieks and wailings from the streets be¬ 
low. The messengers were soon followed by wounded 
fugitives, hastening home to be relieved, or to die among 
their friends and families. The whole town resounded 
with lamentations; for it had lost the flower of its 
youth, and its bravest warriors. Isabella was a woman 
of courageous soul, but her feelings were overpowered 
by spectacles of woe on every side; her maternal heart 
mourned over the death of so many loyal subjects, who 
shortly before had rallied round her with devoted affec¬ 
tion ; and, losing her usual self-command, she sank into 
deep despondency. 

In this gloomy state of mind, a thousand apprehen¬ 
sions crowded upon her. She dreaded the confidence 
which this success would impart to the Moors; she 
feared also for the important fortress of Alhama, the gar¬ 
rison of which had not been reinforced, since its foraging 
party had been cut off by this same El Zagal. On every 
side she saw danger and disaster, and feared that a gen¬ 
eral reverse was about to attend the Castilian arms. 


256 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


The grand cardinal comforted her with both spiritual 
and worldly counsel. He told her to recollect that no 
country was ever conquered without occasional reverses 
to the conquerors; that the Moors were a warlike peo¬ 
ple, fortified in a rough and mountainous country where 
they never could be conquered by her ancestors,—and 
that in fact her armies had already, in three years, taken 
more cities than those of any of her predecessors had 
been able to do in twelve. He concluded by offering 
to take the field himself, with three thousand cavalry, 
his own retainers, paid and maintained by himself, and 
either hasten to the relief of Alhama, or undertake any 
other expedition her majesty might command. The dis¬ 
creet words of the cardinal soothed the spirit of the 
queen, who always looked to him for consolation; and 
she soon recovered her usual equanimity. 

Some of the counselors of Isabella, of that politic class 
who seek to rise by the faults of others, were loud in 
their censures of the rashness of the count. The queen 
defended him with prompt generosity. “The enter¬ 
prise,” said she, “ was rash, but not more rash than that 
of Lucena, which was crowned with success, and which 
we have applauded as the height of heroism. Had the 
count de Cabra succeeded in capturing the uncle, as he 
did the nephew, who is there that would not have praised 
him to the skies ? ” 

The magnanimous words of the queen put a stop to all 
Invidious remarks in her presence; but certain of the 


MAGNANIMITY OF ISABELLA. 


257 


courtiers, who had envied the count the glory gained by 
his former achievements, continued to magnify, among 
themselves, his present imprudence; and we are told by 
Fray Antonio Agapida, that they sneeringly gave the 
worthy cavalier the appellation of count de Cabra, the 
king-catcher. 

Ferdinand had reached the place on the frontier called 
the Fountain of the King, within three leagues of Moclin, 
when he heard of the late disaster. He greatly lamented 
the precipitation of the count, but forbore to express 
himself with severity, for he knew the value of that loyal 
and valiant cavalier.* He held a council of war, to de¬ 
termine what course was to be pursued. Some of hia 
cavaliers advised him to abandon the attempt upon Moc¬ 
lin, the place being strongly reinforced, and the enemy 
inspirited by his recent victory. Certain old Spanish 
hidalgos reminded him that he had but few Castilian 
troops in his army, without which stanch soldiery his 
predecessors never presumed to enter the Moorish terri¬ 
tory ; while others remonstrated that it would be beneath 
the dignity of the king to retire from an enterprise on 
account of the defeat of a single cavalier and his re¬ 
tainers. In this way the king was distracted by a multi¬ 
tude of counselors, when fortunately a letter from the 
queen put an end to his perplexities. Proceed we, in the 
next chapter, to relate what was the purport of that 
letter. 


* Abarca, Anales de Aragon. 


CHAPTER XXXin. 


EXPEDITION AGAINST THE CASTLES OF CAMBIL AND ALBAHAH. 



APPT are those princes,” exclaims the worthy 
padre, Fray Antonio Agapida, “ who have wom¬ 
en and priests to advise them, for in these 
dwelleth the spirit of counsel.” While Ferdinand and 
his captains were confounding each other in their delib¬ 
erations at the Fountain of the King, a quiet but deep 
little council of war was held in the state apartment of 
the old castle of Yaena, between Queen Isabella, the 
venerable Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, grand cardinal 
of Spain, and Don Garcia Osorio, the belligerent bishop 
of Jaen. This last worthy prelate, who had exchanged 
his mitre for a helm, no sooner beheld the defeat of the 
enterprise against Moclin, than he turned the reins of 
his sleek, stall-fed steed, and hastened back to Yaena, 
full of a project for the employment of the army, the ad¬ 
vancement of the faith, and the benefit of his own dio¬ 
cese. He knew that the actions of the king were influ¬ 
enced by the opinions of the queen, and that the queen 
always inclined a listening ear to the counsels of saintly 
men: he laid his plans, therefore, with the customary 

258 







THE BISHOP OF JAEN’S COUNSEL . 


259 


wisdom of his cloth, to turn the ideas of the queen into 
the proper channel; and this was the purport of the 
worthy bishop’s suggestions. 

The bishopric of Jaen had for a long time been ha¬ 
rassed by two Moorish castles, the scourge and terror of 
all that part of the country. They were situated on the 
frontiers of the kingdom of Granada, about four leagues 
from Jaen, in a deep, narrow, and rugged valley, sur¬ 
rounded by lofty mountains. Through this valley runs 
the Rio Frio (or Cold River), in a deep channel, worn 
between high, precipitous banks. On each side of the 
stream rise two vast rocks, nearly perpendicular, within 
a stone’s throw of each other, blocking up the gorge 
of the valley. On the summits of these rocks stood the 
two formidable castles, Cambil and Albahar, fortified 
with battlements and towers of great height and thick¬ 
ness. They were connected together by a bridge, thrown 
from rock to rock across the river. The road, which 
passed through the valley, traversed this bridge, and was 
completely commanded by these castles. They stood 
like two giants of romance, guarding the pass, and domi¬ 
nating the valley. 

The kings of Granada, knowing the importance of these 
castles, kept them always well garrisoned, and victualled 
to stand a siege, with fleet steeds and hard riders, to 
forage the country of the Christians. The warlike race 
of the Abencerrages, the troops of the royal household, 
and others of the choicest chivalry of Granada, made 


260 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


them their strongholds or posts of arms, whence to sally 
forth on those predatory and roving enterprises in which 
they delighted. As the wealthy bishopric of Jaen lay 
immediately at hand, it suffered more peculiarly from 
these marauders. They drove off the fat beeves and the 
flocks of sheep from the pastures, and swept the laborers 
from the field; they scoured the country to the very 
gates of Jaen, so that the citizens could not venture from 
their walls without the risk of being borne off captive to 
the dungeons of these castles. 

The worthy bishop, like a good pastor, beheld with 
grief of heart his fat bishopric daily waxing leaner and 
leaner and poorer and poorer; and his holy ire was 
kindled at the thoughts that the possessions of the 
church should thus be at the mercy of a crew of infidels. 
It was the urgent counsel of the bishop, therefore, that 
the military force, thus providentially assembled in 
the neighborhood, since it was apparently foiled in its 
attempt upon Moclin, should be turned against these 
insolent castles, and the country delivered from their 
domination. The grand cardinal supported the sugges 
tion of the bishop, and declared that he had long med¬ 
itated the policy of a measure of the kind. Their united 
opinions found favor with the queen, and she dispatched 
a letter on the subject to the king. It came just in time 
to relieve him from the distraction of a multitude of 
counselors, and he immediately undertook the reduction 
of those castles. 


ATTEMPT UPON THE CASTLES. 


261 


The marques of Cadiz was accordingly sent in ad¬ 
vance, with two thousand horse, to keep a watch upon 
the garrisons, and prevent all entrance or exit until the 
king should arrive with the main army and the batter¬ 
ing artillery. The queen, to be near at hand in case of 
need, moved her quarters to the city of Jaen, where she 
was received with martial honors by the belligerent 
bishop, who had buckled on his cuirass and girded on 
his sword, to fight in the cause of his diocese. 

In the meantime, the marques of Cadiz arrived in the 
valley, and completely shut up the Moors within their 
walls. The castles were under the command of Mahomet 
Lentin Ben Usef, an Abencerrage, and one of the bravest 
cavaliers of Granada. In his garrisons were many troops 
of the fierce African tribe of the Gomeres. Mahomet 
Lentin, confident in the strength of his fortresses, smiled 
as he looked down from his battlements upon the Chris¬ 
tian cavalry, perplexed in the rough and narrow valley. 
He sent forth skirmishing parties to harass them, and 
there were many sharp combats between small parties 
and single knights; but the Moors were driven back to 
their castles, and all attempts to send intelligence of 
their situation to Granada were frustrated by the vigi¬ 
lance of the marques of Cadiz. 

At length the legions of the royal army came pouring, 
with vaunting trumpet and fluttering banner, along the 
defiles of the mountains. They halted before the cas¬ 
tles, but the king could not find room in the narrow and 


262 


CONQUEST OF GBANADA. 


rugged valley to form liis camp ; he had to divide it into 
three parts, which were posted on different heights ; and 
his tents whitened the sides of the neighboring hills* 
When the encampment was formed, the army remained 
gazing idly at the castles. The artillery was upwards of 
four leagues in the rear, and without artillery all attack 
would be in vain. 

The alcayde Mahomet Lentin knew the nature of the 
road by which the artillery had to be brought. It was 
merely a narrow and rugged path, at times scaling almost 
perpendicular crags and precipices, up which it was 
utterly impossible for wheel carriages to pass; neither 
was it in the power of man or beast to draw up the lom¬ 
bards, and other ponderous ordnance. He felt assured, 
therefore, that they never could be brought to the camp ; 
and, without their aid, what could the Christians effect 
against his rock-built castles ? He scoffed at them, 
therefore, as he saw their tents by day and their fires by 
night covering the surrounding heights. “Let them 
linger here a little while longer,” said he, “and the 
autumnal torrents will wash them from the mountains.” 

While the alcayde was thus closely mewed up within 
his walls, and the Christians remained inactive in their 
camp, he noticed, one calm autumnal day, the sound of 
implements of labor echoing among the mountains, and 
now and then the crash of a falling tree, or a thundering 
report, as if some rock had been heaved from its bed and 
hurled into the valley. The alcayde was on the battle' 


ATTEMPT UPON THE CASTLES. 


263 


ments of his castle, surrounded by his knights. “Me- 
thinks,” said he, “ these Christians are making war upon 
the rocks and trees of the mountains, since they find our 
castles unassailable.” 

The sounds did not cease even during the night: every 
now and then, the Moorish sentinel, as he paced the bat¬ 
tlements, heard some crash echoing among the heights. 
The return of day explained the mystery. Scarcely dk] 
the sun shine against the summits of the mountains, than 
shouts burst from the cliffs opposite to the castles, and 
were answered from the camp, with joyful sound of 
kettle-drums and trumpets. 

The astonished Moors lifted up their eyes, and beheld, 
as it were, a torrent of war breaking out of a narrow 
defile. There was a multitude of men, with pickaxes, 
spades, and bars of iron, clearing away every obstacle ; 
while behind them slowly moved along great teams of 
oxen, dragging heavy ordnance, and all the munitions of 
battering artillery. 

“What cannot women and priests effect, when they 
unite in council?” exclaims again the worthy Antonio 
Agapida. The queen had held another consultation with 
the grand cardinal and the belligerent bishop of Jaen. 
It was clear that the heavy ordnance could never be con¬ 
veyed to the camp by the regular road of the country; 
and without battering artillery, nothing could be effected. 
It was suggested, however, by the zealous bishop, that 
another road might be opened through a more practi- 


264 CONQUEST OF OR AN AD A. 

cable part of the mountains. It would be an undertaking 
extravagant and chimerical, with ordinary means; and, 
therefore, unlooked for by the enemy : but what could 
not kings effect, who had treasures and armies at com¬ 
mand? 

The project struck the enterprising spirit of the queen. 
Six thousand men, with pickaxes, crowbars, and every 
other necessary implement, were set to work day and 
night, to break a road through the very centre of the 
mountains. No time was to be lost, for it was rumored 
that El Zagal was about to march with a mighty host to 
the relief of the castles. The bustling bishop of Jaen 
acted as pioneer, to mark the route and superintend the 
laborers; and the grand cardinal took care that the work 
should never languish through lack of means.* 

“ When kings’ treasures,” says Eray Antonio Agapida, 
“ are dispensed by priestly hands, there is no stint, as 
the glorious annals of Spain bear witness. Under the 
guidance of these ghostly men, it seemed as if miracles 
were effected. Almost an entire mountain was leveled, 
valleys were filled up, trees hewn down, rocks broken and 
overturned; in short, all the obstacles which nature had 
heaped around, entirely and promptly vanished. In little 
more than twelve days, this gigantic work was effected, 
and the ordnance dragged to the camp, to the great tri¬ 
umph of the Christians and confusion of the Moors. ”t 

* Zurita, Anales de Aragon , lib. 20, c. 64. Pulgar, part 3, cap. 51. 

f Idem. 


TRIUMPH OVER OBSTACLES. 


265 


No sooner was the heavy artillery arrived, than it was 
mounted, in all haste, upon the neighboring heights: 
Francisco Ramirez de Madrid, the first engineer in 
Spain, superintended the batteries and soon opened a 
destructive fire upon the castles. 

When the alcayde, Mahomet Lentin, found his towers 
tumbling about him, and his bravest men dashed from 
the walls, without the power of inflicting a wound upon 
the foe, his haughty spirit was greatly exasperated. “Of 
what avail,” said he, bitterly, “is all the prowess of 
knighthood against these cowardly engines that murder 
from afar ? ” 

For a whole day, a tremendous fire kept thundering 
upon the castle of Albahar. The lombards discharged 
large stones, which demolished two of the towers, and all 
the battlements which guarded the portal. If any Moors 
attempted to defend the walls or repair the breaches, 
they were shot down by ribadoquines, and other small 
pieces of artillery. The Christian soldiery issued from 
the camp, under cover of this fire; and, approaching the 
castles, discharged flights of arrows and stones through 
the openings made by the ordnance. 

At length, to bring the siege to a conclusion, Francisco 
Ramirez elevated some of the heaviest artillery on a 
mount that rose in form of a cone or pyramid, on the side 
of the river near to Albahar, and commanded both cas¬ 
tles. This was an operation of great skill and excessive 
labor, but it was repaid by complete success; for the 


266 


CONQUEST OF OR AN AD A. 


Moors did not dare to wait until this terrible battery 
should discharge its fury. Satisfied that all further re¬ 
sistance was vain, the valiant alcayde made signal for a 
parley. The articles of capitulation were soon arranged. 
The alcayde and his garrisons were permitted to return 
in safety to the city of Granada, and the castles were 
delivered into the possession of King Ferdinand, on the 
day of the festival of St. Matthew, in the month of Sep¬ 
tember. They were immediately repaired, strongly gar¬ 
risoned, and delivered in charge of the city of Jaen. 

The effects of this triumph were immediately apparent. 
Quiet and security once more settled upon the bishopric. 
The husbandmen tilled their fields in peace, the herds 
and flocks fattened unmolested in the pastures, and the 
vineyards yielded corpulent skinsful of rosy wine. The 
good bishop enjoyed, in the gratitude of his people, the 
approbation of his conscience, the increase of his reve¬ 
nues, and the abundance of his table, a reward for all his 
toils and perils. “ This glorious victory,” exclaims Fray 
Antonio Agapida, “ achieved by such extraordinary man¬ 
agement and infinite labor, is a shining example of what 
a bishop can effect, for the promotion of the faith and 
the good of his diocese.” 


CHAPTER XXXIV. 


ENTERPRISE OF THE KNIGHTS OF CALA.TRA.VA AGAINST ZALBA 

HILE these events were taking place on the 
northern frontier of the kingdom of Granada, 
the important fortress of Alhama was neglected, 
and its commander, Don Gutiere de Padilla, clavero of 
Calatrava, reduced to great perplexity. The remnant of 
the foraging party, which had been surprised and mas¬ 
sacred by El Zagal when on his way to Granada to re¬ 
ceive the crown, had returned in confusion and dismay to 
the fortress. They could only speak of their own dis¬ 
grace, being obliged to abandon their cavalgada and fly, 
pursued by a superior force : of the flower of their party, 
the gallant knights of Calatrava, who had remained be¬ 
hind in the valley, they knew nothing. A few days 
cleared up the mystery of their fate: tidings were 
brought that their bloody heads had been borne in tri¬ 
umph into Granada. The surviving knights of Calatrava, 
who formed a part of the garrison, burned to revenge the 
death of their comrades, and to wipe out the stigma of 
this defeat; but the clavero had been rendered cautious 
by disaster—he resisted all their entreaties for a foray. 







268 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


His garrison was weakened by the loss of so many of it*, 
bravest men; the vega was patrolled by numerous and 
powerful squadrons, sent forth by El Zagal; above all, 
the movements of the garrison were watched by the war¬ 
riors of Zalea, a strong town, only two leagues distant, on 
the road towards Loxa. This place was a continual check 
upon Alhama, when in its most powerful state, placing 
ambuscades to entrap the Christian cavaliers in the 
course of their sallies. Frequent and bloody skirmishes 
had taken place, in consequence ; and the troops of Al¬ 
hama, when returning from their forays, had often to 
fight their way back through the squadrons of Zalea. 
Thus surrounded by dangers, Don Gutiere de Padilla re¬ 
strained the eagerness of his troops for a sally, knowing 
that any additional disaster might be followed by the 
loss of Alhama. 

In the meanwhile provisions began to grow scarce ; 
they were unable to forage the country as usual for sup¬ 
plies, and depended for relief upon the Castilian sove¬ 
reigns. The defeat of the count de Cabra filled the 
measure of their perplexities, as it interrupted the in¬ 
tended reinforcements and supplies. To such extremity 
were they reduced, that they were compelled to kill some 
of their horses for provisions. 

The worthy clavero, Don Gutiere de Padilla, was pon¬ 
dering one day on this gloomy state of affairs, when a 
Moor was brought before him who had surrendered him¬ 
self at the gate of Alhama, and claimed an audience. 


REVENGEFUL PROPOSAL. 


269 


Don Gutiere was accustomed to visits of the kind from 
renegado Moors, who roamed the country as spies and 
adalides; but the countenance of this man was quite 
unknown to him. He had a box strapped to his shoul¬ 
ders, containing divers articles of traffic, and appeared 
to be one of those itinerant traders, who often resorted 
to Alhama and the other garrison towns, under pretext of 
vending trivial merchandise, such as amulets, perfumes, 
and trinkets, but who often produced rich shawls, golden 
chains and necklaces, and valuable gems and jewels. 

The Moor requested a private conference with the 
clavero : “ I have a precious jewel,” said he, “ to dis¬ 
pose of.” 

“ I want no jewels,” replied Don Gutiere. 

“For the sake of Him who died on the cross, the 
great prophet of your faith,” said the Moor, solemnly, 
“ refuse not my request; the jewel I speak of you alone 
can purchase, but I can only treat about it in secret.” 

Don Gutiere perceived there was something hidden 
under these mystic and figurative terms, in which the 
Moors were often accustomed to talk. He motioned his 
attendants to retire. When they were alone, the Moor 
looked cautiously around the apartment, and then, ap¬ 
proaching close to the knight, demanded in a low voice, 
“ What will you give me, if I deliver the fortress of Zalea 
into your hands ? ” 

Don Gutiere looked with surprise at the humble indh 
sridual that made such a suggestion. 


270 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


“ What means have you,” said he, “ of effecting such a 
proposition ? ” 

“ I have a brother in the garrison of Zalea,” replied 
the Moor, “ who, for a proper compensation, would admit 
a body of troops into the citadel.” 

Don Gutiere turned a scrutinizing eye upon the Moor. 
“ What right have I to believe,” said he, “ that thou wilt 
be truer to me, than to those of thy blood and thy 
religion ? ” 

“ I renounce all ties to them, either of blood or relig¬ 
ion,” replied the Moor; “my mother was a Christian 
captive; her country shall henceforth be my country, and 
her faith, my faith.” * 

The doubts of Don Gutiere were not dispelled by this 
profession of mongrel Christianity. “ Granting the sin¬ 
cerity of thy conversion,” said he, “art thou under no 
obligations of gratitude or duty to the alcayde of the 
fortress thou wouldst betray ? ” 

The eyes of the Moor flashed fire at the words; he 
gnashed his teeth with fury. “ The alcayde,” cried he, 
“ is a dog! He has deprived my brother of his just share 
of booty; he has robbed me of my merchandise, treated 
me worse than a Jew when I murmured at his injustice, 
and ordered me to be thrust forth ignominiously from his 
walls. May the curse of God fall upon my head, if I rest 
content until I have full revenge ! ” 


* Cura de los Palacios. 


REVENGEFUL PROPOSAL. 


271 


“Enough,” said Don Gutiere: “I trust more to thy 
revenge than thy religion.” 

The good clavero called a council of his officers. The 
knights of Calatrava were unanimous for the enterprise— 
zealous to appease the manes of their slaughtered com¬ 
rades. Don Gutiere reminded them of the state of the 
garrison, enfeebled by their late loss, and scarcely suffi¬ 
cient for the defense of the walls. The cavaliers replied, 
that there was no achievement without risk, and that 
there would have been no great actions recorded in 
history, had there not been daring spirits ready to peril 
life to gain renown. 

Don Gutiere yielded to the wishes of his knights, for 
to have resisted any further might have drawn on him 
the imputation of timidity; he ascertained by trusty 
spies that everything in Zalea remained in the usual 
state, and he made all the requisite arrangements for the 
attack. 

When the appointed night arrived, all the cavaliers 
were anxious to engage in the enterprise; but the indi¬ 
viduals were decided by lot. They set out, under the 
guidance of the Moor ; and when they had arrived in the 
vicinity of Zalea, they bound his hands behind his back, 
and their leader pledged his knightly word to strike him 
dead, on the first sign of treachery. He then bade him 
to lead the way. 

It was near midnight when they reached the walls of 
the fortress. They passed silently along until they found 


272 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


themselves below the citadel. Here their guide made 
a low and preconcerted signal: it was answered from 
above, and a cord let down from the wall. The knights 
attached to it a ladder, which was drawn up and fastened. 
Gutiere Munoz was the first that mounted, followed by 
Pedro de Alvarado, both brave and hardy soldiers. A 
handful succeeded; they were attacked by a party of 
guards, but held them at bay until more of their com¬ 
rades ascended; with their assistance they gained pos¬ 
session of a tower and part of the wall. The garrison, 
by this time, was aroused; but before they could reach 
the scene of action, most of the cavaliers were within the 
battlements. A bloody contest raged for about an hour 
—several of the Christians were slain, but many of the 
Moors; at length the citadel was carried, and the town 
submitted without resistance. 

Thus did the gallant knights of Calatrava gain the 
strong town of Zalea with scarcely any loss, and atone 
for the inglorious defeat of their companions by El Za- 
gal. They found the magazines of the place well stored 
with provisions, and were enabled to carry a season¬ 
able supply to their own famishing garrison. 

The tidings of this event reached the sovereigns, just 
after the surrender of Cambil and Albahar. They were 
greatly rejoiced at this additional success of their arms, 
and immediately sent strong reinforcements and ample 
supplies for both Alhama and Zalea. They then dis^ 
missed the army for the winter. Ferdinand and Isabella 


ZALEA TAKEN. 


273 


retired to Alcala de Henares, where the queen, on the 
16th of December, 1485, gave birth to the princess Catha¬ 
rine, afterwards wife of Henry VIII., of England. Thus 
prosperously terminated the checkered campaign of this 
important year. 

18 


CHAPTER XXXV. 


DEATH OF MULEY ABUL HASSAN. 

ABDALLAH EL ZAGAL had been re- 
[ with great acclamations at Granada, on 
turn from defeating the count de Cabra. 
He had endeavored to turn his victory to the greatest 
advantage with his subjects; giving tilts and tourna¬ 
ments, and other public festivities, in which the Moors 
delighted. The loss of the castles of Cambil and Alba- 
har, and of the fortress of Zalea, however, checked this 
sudden tide of popularity; and some of the fickle popu¬ 
lace began to doubt whether they had not been rather 
precipitate in deposing his brother, Muley Abul Hassan. 

That superannuated monarch remained in his faithful 
town of Almunecar, on the border of the Mediterranean, 
surrounded by a few adherents, together with his wife 
Zoraya and his children; and he had all his treasures 
safe in his possession. The fiery heart of the old king 
was almost burnt out, and all his powers of doing either 
harm or good seemed at an end. 

While in this passive and helpless state, his brother 

El Zagal manifested a sudden anxiety for his health. He 

274 









DEATH OF MULET ABUL HASSAF. 


275 


had him removed, with all tenderness and care, to Salo- 
brena, another fortress on the Mediterranean coast, 
famous for its pure and salubrious air; and the alcayde, 
who was a devoted adherent to El Zagal, was charged to 
have especial care that nothing was wanting to the com¬ 
fort and solace of his brother. 

Salobrena was a small town, situated on a lofty and 
rocky hill, in the midst of a beautiful and fertile vega, 
shut up on three sides by mountains, and opening on the 
fourth to the Mediterranean. It was protected by strong 
walls and a powerful castle, and, being deemed impreg¬ 
nable, was often used by the Moorish kings as a place of 
deposit for their treasures. They were accustomed also 
to assign it as a residence for such of their sons and 
brothers as might endanger the security of their reign. 
Here the princes lived, in luxurious repose : they had 
delicious gardens, perfumed baths, a harem of beauties, 
at their command—nothing was denied them but the 
liberty to depart; that alone was wanting to render this 
abode an earthly paradise. 

Such was the delightful place appointed by El Zagal 
for the residence of his brother ; but notwithstanding its 
wonderful salubrity, the old monarch had not been re¬ 
moved thither many days before he expired. There was 
nothing extraordinary in his death : life with him had 
long been glimmering in the socket, and for some time 
past he might rather have been numbered with the dead 
than with the living. The public, however, are fond of 


276 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


seeing things in a sinister and mysterious point of view, 
and there were many dark surmises as to the cause of 
this event. El Zagal acted in a manner to heighten 
these suspicions: he caused the treasures of his deceased 
brother to be packed on mules and brought to Granada, 
where he took possession of them, to the exclusion of the 
children of Abul Hassan. The sultana Zoraya and her 
two sons were lodged in the Alhambra, in the tower of 
Comares. This was a residence in a palace—but it had 
proved a royal prison to the sultana Ayxa la Horra, and 
her youthful son Boabdil. There the unhappy Zoraya 
had time to meditate upon the disappointment of all 
those ambitious schemes for herself and children, for 
which she had stained her conscience with so many 
crimes. 

The corpse of old Muley was also brought to Granada, 
not in state becoming the remains of a once powerful 
sovereign, but transported on a mule, like the corpse of 
the poorest peasant. It received no honor or ceremo¬ 
nial from El Zagal, and appears to have been interred 
obscurely, to prevent any popular sensation, and it is 
recorded by an ancient and faithful chronicler of the 
time, that the body of the old monarch was deposited by 
two Christian captives in his osario or charnel-house.* 
Such was the end of the turbulent Muley Abul Hassan, 
who, after passing his life in constant contests for em- 


* Cura de los Palacios, c. 77. 


PARTIAL RESTORATION OF BO ABRIL. 


pire, could scarce gain quiet admission into the corner of 
a sepulchre. 

No sooner were the populace well assured that old 
Muley Abul Hassan was dead, and beyond recovery, than 
they all began to extol his memory, and deplore his loss. 
They admitted that he had been fierce and cruel, but 
then he had been brave ; he had, to be sure, pulled this 
war upon their heads, but he had likewise been crushed 
by it. In a word, he was dead ; and his death atoned for 
every fault; for a king, recently dead, is generally either 
a hero or a saint. 

In proportion as they ceased to hate old Muley, they 
began to hate his brother. The circumstances of the old 
king’s death, the eagerness to appropriate his treasures, 
the scandalous neglect of his corpse, and the imprison¬ 
ment of his sultana and children, all filled the public 
mind with gloomy suspicions; and the epithet of Fratri¬ 
cide ! was sometimes substituted for that of El Zagal, in 
the low murmurings of the people. 

As the public must always have some object to like as 
well as to hate, there began once more to be an inquiry 
after their fugitive king, Boabdil el Chico. That unfor¬ 
tunate monarch was still at Cordova, existing on the cool 
courtesy and meagre friendship of Ferdinand; which had 
waned exceedingly, ever since Boabdil had ceased to 
have any influence in his late dominions. The reviving 
interest expressed in his fate by the Moorish public, and 
certain secret overtures made to him, once more aroused 


278 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


the sympathy of Ferdinand: he advised Boabdil again to 
set up his standard within the frontiers of Granada, and 
furnished him with money and means for the purpose. 
Boabdil advanced but a little way into his late terri¬ 
tories ; he took up his post at Yelez el Blanco, a strong 
town on the confines of Murcia; there he established the 
shadow of a court, and stood, as it were, with one foot 
over the border, and ready to draw that back upon the 
least alarm. His presence in the kingdom, however, and 
his assumption of royal state, gave life to his faction in 
Granada. The inhabitants of the Albaycin, the poorest 
but most warlike part of the populace, were generally in 
his favor: the more rich, courtly, and aristocratical in¬ 
habitants of the quarter of the Alhambra, rallied round 
what appeared to be the most stable authority, and sup¬ 
ported the throne of El Zagal. So it is, in the admirable 
order of sublunary affairs : everything seeks its kind; the 
rich befriend the rich, the powerful stand by the power¬ 
ful, the poor enjoy the patronage of the poor—and thus a 
universal harmony prevails! 


CHAPTER XXXVI. 


OF THE CHRISTIAN ARMY WHICH ASSEMBLED AT THE CITY OF CORDOVA. 



REAT and glorious was the style with which 
the Catholic sovereigns opened another year’s 
campaign of this eventful war. It was like 
commencing another act of a stately and heroic drama, 
where the curtain rises to the inspiring sound of martial 
melody and the whole stage glitters with the array of 
warriors and the pomp of arms. The ancient city of 
Cordova was the place appointed by the sovereigns for 
the assemblage of the troops; and early in the spring of 
1486, the fair valley of the Guadalquivir resounded with 
the shrill blast of trumpet, and the impatient neighing 
of the war-horse. In this splendid era of Spanish chiv¬ 
alry, there was a rivalship among the nobles who most 
should distinguish himself by the splendor of his appear¬ 
ance, and the number and equipments of his feudal fol¬ 
lowers. Every day beheld some cavalier of note, the 
representative of some proud and powerful house, enter¬ 
ing the gates of Cordova with sound of trumpet, and dis¬ 
playing his banner and device, renowned in many a con¬ 
test. He would appear in sumptuous array, surrounded 

279 






280 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


bj pages and lackeys no less gorgeously attired, and foh 
lowed by a‘ host of vassals and retainers, horse and foot, 
all admirably equipped in burnished armor. 

Such was the state of Don Inigo Lopez de Mendoza, 
duke of Infantado; who may be cited as a picture of a 
warlike noble of those times. He brought with him 
five hundred men-at-arms of his household, armed and 
mounted a la gineta and a la guisa. The cavaliers who 
attended him were magnificently armed and dressed. 
The housings of fifty of his horses were of rich cloth, 
embroidered with gold; and others were of brocade. 
The sumpter mules had housings of the same, with hal¬ 
ters of silk; while the bridles, head-pieces, and all the 
harnessing, glittered with silver. 

The camp equipage of these noble and luxurious war¬ 
riors was equally magnificent. Their tents were gay pa¬ 
vilions, of various colors, fitted up with silken hangings 
and decorated with fluttering pennons. They had ves¬ 
sels of gold and silver for the service of their tables, as 
if they were about to engage in a course of stately feasts 
and courtly revels, instead of the stern encounters of 
rugged and mountainous warfare. Sometimes they pass¬ 
ed through the streets of Cordova at night, in splendid 
cavalcade, with great numbers of lighted torches, the 
rays of which, falling upon polished armor and nod¬ 
ding plumes, and silken scarfs, and trappings of golden 
embroidery, filled all beholders with admiration.* 

* Pulgar, part 3, cap. 41, 56. 


CHRISTIAN ARMY AT CORDOVA. 


281 


But it was not the chivalry of Spain, alone, which 
thronged the streets of Cordova. The fame of this war 
had spread throughout Christendom: it was considered 
a kind of crusade; and Catholic knights from all parts 
hastened to signalize themselves in so holy a cause. 
There were several valiant chevaliers from France, among 
whom the most distinguished was Gaston du Leon, 
seneschal of Toulouse. With him came a gallant train, 
well armed and mounted, and decorated with rich sur- 
coats and panaches of feathers. These cavaliers, it is 
said, eclipsed all others in the light festivities of the 
court: they were devoted to the fair, but not after the 
solemn and passionate manner of the Spanish lovers; 
they were gay, gallant, and joyous in their amours, and 
captivated by the vivacity of their attacks. They were at 
first held in light estimation by the grave and stately 
Spanish knights, until they made themselves to be re¬ 
spected by their wonderful prowess in the field. 

The most conspicuous of the volunteers, however, who 
appeared in Cordova on this occasion, was an English 
knight of royal connection. This was the lord Scales, 
earl of Rivers, brother to the queen of England, wife 
of Henry VII. He had distinguished himself in the 
preceding year, at the battle of Bosworth field, where 
Henry Tudor, then earl of Richmond, overcame Richard 
Ed. That decisive battle having left the country at 
peace, the earl of Rivers, having conceived a passion for 
warlike scenes, repaired to the Castilian court, to keep 


282 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A 


liis arms in exercise in a campaign against the Moors. 
He brought with him a hundred archers, all dexterous 
with the long-bow and the cloth-yard arrow; also two 
hundred yeomen, armed cap-a-pie, who fought with pike 
and battle-axe—men robust of frame, and of prodigious 
strength. The worthy padre Fray Antonio Agapida de¬ 
scribes this stranger knight and his followers with his 
accustomed accuracy and minuteness. 

“ This cavalier,” he observes, “ was from the far island 
of England, and brought with him a train of his vassals; 
men who had been hardened in certain civil wars which 
raged in their country. They were a comely race of men, 
but too fair and fresh for warriors, not having the sun¬ 
burnt, warlike hue of our old Castilian soldiery. They 
were huge feeders also, and deep carousers, and could 
not accommodate themselves to the sober diet of our 
troops, but must fain eat and drink after the manner of 
their own country. They were often noisy and unruly, 
also, in their wassail; and their quarter of the camp was 
prone to be a scene of loud revel and sudden brawl. 
They were, withal, of great pride, yet it was not like our 
inflammable Spanish pride: they stood not much upon 
the pundonor , the high punctilio, and rarely drew the sti¬ 
letto in their disputes; but their pride was silent and 
contumelious. Though from a remote and somewhat 
barbarous island, they believed themselves the most per¬ 
fect men upon earth, and magnified their chieftain, the 
lord Scales, beyond the greatest of their grandees. With 


THE ENGLISH LORD SCALES. 


283 


all this, it must be said of them that they were marvel¬ 
ous good men in the field, dexterous archers, and power¬ 
ful with the battle-axe. In their great pride and self- 
will, they always sought to press in the advance and take 
the post of danger, trying to outvie our Spanish chivalry. 
They did not rush on fiercely to the fight, nor make a 
brilliant onset like the Moorish and Spanish troops, but 
they went into the fight deliberately, and persisted obsti¬ 
nately, and were slow to find out when they were beaten. 
Withal they were much esteemed, yet little liked by our 
soldiery, who considered them stanch companions in the 
field, yet coveted but little fellowship with them in the 
camp. 

“Their commander, the lord Scales, was an accom¬ 
plished cavalier, of gracious and noble presence and fair 
speech; it was a marvel to see so much courtesy in a 
knight brought up so far from our Castilian court. He 
was much honored by the king and queen, and found 
great favor with the fair dames about the court, who 
indeed are rather prone to be pleased with foreign cava¬ 
liers. He went always in costly state, attended by pages 
and esquires, and accompanied by noble young cavaliers 
of his country, who had enrolled themselves under his 
banner, to learn the gentle exercise of arms. In all 
pageants and festivals, the eyes of the populace were 
attracted by the singular bearing and rich array of the 
English earl and his train, who prided themselves in al¬ 
ways appearing in the garb and manner of their country 


284 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


—and were indeed something very magnificent, delec¬ 
table, and strange to behold.” 

The worthy chronicler is no less elaborate in his de¬ 
scription of the masters of Santiago, Calatrava, and Al¬ 
cantara, and their valiant knights, armed at all points, 
and decorated with the badges of their orders. These, 
he affirms, were the flower of Christian chivalry; being 
constantly in service, they became more steadfast and 
accomplished in discipline than the irregular and tem¬ 
porary levies of the feudal nobles. Calm, solemn, and 
stately, they sat like towers upon their powerful charg¬ 
ers. On parades, they manifested none of the show and 
ostentation of the other troops: neither, in battle, did 
they endeavor to signalize themselves by any fiery vivac¬ 
ity, or desperate and vainglorious exploit—everything, 
with them, was measured and sedate; yet it was ob¬ 
served, that none were more warlike in their appearance 
in the camp, or more terrible for their achievements in 
the field. 

The gorgeous magnificence of the Spanish nobles found 
but little favor in the eyes of the sovereigns. They saw 
that it caused a competition in expense, ruinous to cava¬ 
liers of moderate fortune: and they feared that a softness 
and effeminacy might thus be introduced, incompatible 
with the stern nature of the war. They signified their 
disapprobation to several of the principal noblemen, and 
recommended a more sober and soldierlike display while 
in actual service. 


CAMPAIGN AGAINST LOXA. 


285 


“These are rare troops for a tourney, my lord,” said 
Ferdinand to the duke of Infant ado, as he beheld his 
retainers glittering in gold and embroidery ; “ but gold, 
though gorgeous, is soft and yielding : iron is the metai 
for the field.” 

“ Sire,” replied the duke, “ if my men parade in gold, 
your majesty will find they fight with steel.” The king 
smiled, but shook his head, and the duke treasured up 
his speech in his heart. 

It remains now to reveal the immediate object of this 
mighty and chivalrous preparation, which had, in fact, 
the gratification of a royal pique at bottom. The severe 
lesson which Ferdinand had received from the veteran 
Ali Atar, before the walls of Loxa, though it had been 
of great service in rendering him wary in his attacks 
upon fortified places, yet rankled sorely in his mind; 
and he had ever since held Loxa in peculiar odium. It 
was, in truth, one of the most belligerent and troublesome 
cities on the borders, incessantly harassing Andalusia 
by its incursions. It also intervened between the Chris¬ 
tian territories and Alhama, and other important places 
gained in the kingdom of Granada. For all these rea¬ 
sons King Ferdinand had determined to make another 
grand attempt upon this warrior city; and for this pur¬ 
pose, had summoned to the field his most powerful 
chivalry. 

It was in the month of May, that the king sallied from 
Cordova, at the head of his army. He had twelve thou- 



286 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA . 


sand cavalry and forty thousand foot - soldiers, armed 
with cross-bows, lances, and arquebuses. There were 
six thousand pioneers, with hatchets, pickaxes, and crow¬ 
bars, for leveling roads. He took with him, also, a great 
train of lombards and other heavy artillery, with a body 
of Germans skilled in the service of ordnance, and the 
art of battering walls. 

It was a glorious spectacle (says Fray Antonio Aga- 
pida) to behold this pompous pageant issuing forth from 
Cordova, the pennons and devices of the proudest houses 
of Spain, with those of gallant stranger knights, flutter¬ 
ing above a sea of crests and plumes; to see it slowly 
moving, with flash of helm, and cuirass, and buckler, 
across the ancient bridge, and reflected in the waters of 
the Guadalquivir, while the neigh of steed and blast of 
trumpet vibrated in the air, and resounded to the distant 
mountains. “But above all,” concludes the good father, 
with his accustomed zeal, “it was triumphant to behold 
the standard of the faith everywhere displayed, and to 
reflect that this was no worldly-minded army, intent upon 
some temporal scheme of ambition or revenge; but a 
Christian host, bound on a crusade to extirpate the vile 
seed of Mahomet from the land, and to extend the pure 
dominion of the church.” 


CHAPTER XXXVH 


HOW FRESH COMMOTIONS BROKE OUT IN GRANADA, AND HOW THE PEOPLE 
UNDERTOOK TO ALLAY THEM. 



HILE perfect unity of object and harmony of 
operation gave power to the Christian arms, 
the devoted kingdom of Granada continued a 
prey to internal feuds. The transient popularity of El 
Zagal had declined ever since the death of his brother, 
and the party of Boabdil was daily gaining strength ; the 
Albaycin and the Alhambra were again arrayed against 
each other in deadly strife, and the streets of unhappy 
Granada were daily dyed in the blood of her children. 
In the midst of these dissensions, tidings arrived of the 
formidable army assembling at Cordova. The rival fac¬ 
tions paused in their infatuated brawls, and were roused 
to a temporary sense of the common danger. They 
forthwith resorted to their old expedient of new-model¬ 
ing their government, or rather of making and unmaking 
kings. The elevation of El Zagal to the throne had not 
produced the desired effect—what then was to be done ? 
Recall Boabdil el Chico, and acknowledge him again as 
sovereign ? While they were in a popular tumult of de- 

287 







288 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


liberation, Hamet Aben Zarrax, snrnamed El Santo, rose 
among them. This was the same wild, melancholy man, 
who had predicted the woes of Granada. He issued 
from one of the caverns of the adjacent height which 
overhangs the Darro, and has since been called the Holy 
Mountain. His appearance was more haggard than 
ever; for the unheeded spirit'of prophecy seemed to 
have turned inwardly, and preyed upon his vitals. “ Be¬ 
ware, O Moslems,” exclaimed he, “ of men who are eager 
to govern, yet are unable to protect. Why slaughter 
each other for El Chico or El Zagal ? Let your kings 
renounce their contests, unite for the salvation of Gra¬ 
nada, or let them be deposed.” 

Hamet Aben Zarrax had long been revered as a saint— 
he was now considered an oracle. The old men and the 
nobles immediately consulted together, how the two rival 
kings might be brought to accord. They had tried most 
expedients; it was now determined to divide the kingdom 
between them; giving Granada, Malaga, Yelez Malaga, 
Almera, Almuhecar, and their dependencies to El Za¬ 
gal—and the residue to Boabdil el Chico. Among the 
cities granted to the latter, Loxa was particularly speci¬ 
fied, with a condition that he should immediately take 
command of it in person ; for the council thought the 
favor he enjoyed with the Castilian monarchs might 
avert the threatened attack. 

El Zagal readily agreed to this arrangement; he had 
been hastily elevated to the throne by an ebullition of 


THE MOORISH KINGDOM DIVIDED. 


289 


the people, and might be as hastily cast down again. It 
secured him one half of a kingdom to which he had no 
hereditary right, and he trusted to force or fraud to gain 
the other half hereafter. The wily old monarch even 
sent a deputation to his nephew, making a merit of offer¬ 
ing him cheerfully the half which he had thus been com¬ 
pelled to relinquish, and inviting him to enter into an 
amicable coalition for the good of the country. 

The heart of Boabdil shrank from all connection with 
a man who had sought his life, and whom he regarded as 
the murderer of his kindred. He accepted one half of 
the kingdom as an offer from the nation, not to be 
rejected by a prince who scarcely held possession of the 
ground he stood on. He asserted, nevertheless, his abso¬ 
lute right to the whole, and only submitted to the parti¬ 
tion out of anxiety for the present good of his people. 
He assembled his handful of adherents, and prepared to 
hasten to Loxa. As he mounted his horse to depart, 
Hamet Aben Zarrax stood suddenly before him. “Be 
true to thy country and thy faith,” cried he: “hold no 
further communication with these Christian dogs. Trust 
not the hollow-hearted friendship of the Castilian king; 
he is mining the earth beneath thy feet. Choose one of 
two things; be a sovereign or a slave—thou canst not be 
both.” 

Boabdil ruminated on these words; he made many 
wise resolutions, but he was prone always to act from the 
impulse of the moment, and was unfortunately given to 
19 


290 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA . 


temporize in his policy. He wrote to Ferdinand, inform¬ 
ing him that Loxa and certain other cities had returned 
to their allegiance, and that he held them as vassal to 
the Castilian crown, according to their convention. He 
conjured him, therefore, to refrain from any meditated 
attack, offering free passage to the Spanish army to 
Malaga, or any other place under the dominion of his 
uncle.* 

Ferdinand turned a deaf ear to the entreaty, and to all 
professions of friendship and vassalage. Boabdil was 
nothing to him, but as an instrument for stirring up the 
flames of civil war. He now insisted that he had entered 
into a hostile league with his uncle, and had conse¬ 
quently forfeited all claims to his indulgence; and he 
prosecuted, with the greater earnestness, his campaign 
against the city of Loxa. 

“Thus,” observes the worthy Fray Antonio Agapida, 
“thus did this most sagacious sovereign act upon the 
text in the eleventh chapter of the Evangelist St. Luke, 
that ‘ a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.’ He 
had induced these infidels to waste and destroy them¬ 
selves by internal dissensions, and finally cast forth the 
survivor; while the Moorish monarchs, by their ruinous 
contests, made good the old Castilian proverb in cases of 
civil war, ‘El vencido vencido, y el vencidor perdido,’ 
(the conquered conquered, and the conqueror undone).” t 


* Zurita, lib. 20, c. 68. 


f Garibay, lib. 40, c. 38. 


CHAPTER XXXVIH. 


HOW KING FERDINAND HELD A COUNCIL OF WAR, AT THE ROCK OF THE 
LOVERS. 

HE royal army, on its march against Loxa, lay 
encamped, one pleasant evening in May, in a 
meadow on the banks of the river Yeguas, 
around the foot of a lofty cliff called the Rock of the 
Lovers. The quarters of each nobleman formed, as it 
were, a separate little encampment; his stately pavilion, 
surmounted by his fluttering pennon, rising above the 
surrounding tents of his vassals and retainers. A little 
apart from the others, as it were in proud reserve, was 
the encampment of the English earl. It was sumptu¬ 
ous in its furniture, and complete in all its munitions. 
Archers, and soldiers armed with battle-axes, kept 
guard around it; while above, the standard of England 
rolled out its ample folds, and flapped in the evening 
breeze. 

The mingled sounds of various tongues and nations 
were heard from the soldiery, as they watered their 
horses in the stream, or busied themselves round the 
fires which began to glow, here and there, in the twi- 

291 







292 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


light: the gay chanson of the Frenchman, singing of his 
amours on the pleasant banks of the Loire, or the sunny 
regions of the Garonne; the broad guttural tones of the 
German, chanting some doughty krieger lied , or extolling 
the vintage of the Bhine; the wild romance of the Span¬ 
iard, reciting the achievements of the Cid, and many a 
famous passage of the Moorish wars; and the long and 
melancholy ditty of the Englishman, treating of some 
feudal hero or redoubtable outlaw of his distant island. 

On a rising ground, commanding a view of the whole 
encampment, stood the ample and magnificent pavilion of 
the king, with the banner of Castile and Aragon, and the 
holy standard of the cross, erected before it. In this 
tent were assembled the principal commanders of the 
army, having been summoned by Ferdinand to a council 
of war, on receiving tidings that Boabdil had thrown 
himself into Loxa with a considerable reinforcement. 
After some conclusion, it was determined to invest Loxa 
on both sides: one part of the army should seize upon 
the dangerous but commanding height of Santo Al- 
bohacen, in front of the city; while the remainder, mak¬ 
ing a circuit, should encamp on the opposite side. 

No sooner was this resolved upon, than the marques of 
Cadiz stood forth and claimed the post of danger in 
behalf of himself and those cavaliers, his companions in 
arms, who had been compelled to relinquish it by the 
general retreat of the army on the former siege. The 
enemy had exulted over them, as if driven from it in 


THE HEIGHT OF ALBOHAOEN. 


293 


disgrace. To regain that perilous height, to pitch their 
tents upon it, and to avenge the blood of their valiant 
compeer, the master of Calatrava, who had fallen upon 
it, was due to their fame; the marques demanded, there¬ 
fore, that they might lead the advance and secure that 
height, engaging to hold the enemy employed until the 
main army should take its position on the opposite side 
of the city. 

King Ferdinand readily granted his permission ; upon 
which the count de Cabra entreated to be admitted to a 
share of the enterprise. He had always been accus¬ 
tomed to serve in the advance; and now that Boabdil 
was in the field, and a king was to be taken, he could not 
content himself with remaining in the rear. Ferdinand 
yielded his consent, for he was disposed to give the good 
count every opportunity to retrieve his late disaster. 

The English earl, when he heard there was an enter¬ 
prise of danger in question, was hot to be admitted to 
the party ; but the king restrained his ardor. “ These 
cavaliers,” said he, “ conceive that they have an account 
to settle with their pride; let them have the enterprise 
to themselves, my lord; if you follow these Moorish wars 
long, you will find no lack of perilous service.” 

The marques of Cadiz, and his companions in arms, 
struck their tents before daybreak ; they were five thou¬ 
sand horse and twelve thousand foot, and marched rap¬ 
idly along the defiles of the mountains; the cavaliers 
being anxious to strike the blow, and get possession of 


294 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


the height of Albohacen, before the king with the main 
army should arrive to their assistance. 

The city of Loxa stands on a high hill, between two 
mountains, on the banks of the Xenil. To attain the 
height of Albohacen, the troops had to pass over a tract 
of rugged and broken country, and a deep valley, inter¬ 
sected by those canals and watercourses with which the 
Moors irrigated their lands : they were extremely embar¬ 
rassed in this part of their march, and in imminent risk 
of being cut up in detail before they could reach the 
height. 

The count de Cabra, with his usual eagerness, endeav 
ored to push across this valley, in defiance of ever} 
obstacle; he, in consequence, soon became entangled with 
his cavalry among the canals; but his impatience would 
not permit him to retrace his steps, and choose a more 
practicable but circuitous route. Others slowly crossed 
another part of the valley, by the aid of pontoons ; while 
the marques of Cadiz, Don Alonzo de Aguilar, and the 
count de Drena, being more experienced in the ground 
from their former campaign, made a circuit round the 
bottom of the height, and, winding up it, began to dis¬ 
play their squadrons and elevate their banners on the 
redoubtable post, which, in their former siege, they had 
been compelled so reluctantly to abandon. 


CHAPTER XXXIX. 


HOW THE ROYAL ARMY APPEARED BEFORE THE CITY OF LOXA, AND HOW 
IT WAS RECEIVED ; AND OF THE DOUGHTY ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH 
EARL. 


HE advance of the Christian army upon Loxa, 
threw the wavering Boabdil el Chico into one 
of his usual dilemmas ; and he was greatly per¬ 
plexed between his oath of allegiance to the Spanish sove^ 
reigns, and his sense of duty to his subjects. His doubts 
were determined by the sight of the enemy glittering 
upon the height of Albohacen, and by the clamors of the 
people to be led forth to battle. “ Allah ! ” exclaimed he, 
“ thou knowest my heart: thou knowest I have been true 
in my faith to this Christian monarch. I have offered to 
hold Loxa as his vassal, but he has preferred to approach 
it as an enemy—on his head be the infraction of our 
treaty.” 

Boabdil was not wanting in courage ; he only needed 
decision. When he had once made up his mind, he acted 
vigorously; the misfortune was, he either did not make 
it up at all, or he made it up too late. He who decides 
tardily generally acts rashly, endeavoring to make up by 

295 







296 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AT) A. 


hurry of action for slowness of deliberation. Boabdil 
hastily buckled on his armor, and sallied forth, sur¬ 
rounded by his guards, and at the head of five hundred 
horse and four thousand foot, the flower of his army. 
Some he detached to skirmish with the Christians, who 
were scattered and perplexed in the valley, and to pre¬ 
vent their concentrating their forces; while, with his 
main body, he pressed forward to drive the enemy from 
the height of Albohacen, before they had time to collect 
there in any number, or to fortify themselves in that im¬ 
portant position. 

The worthy count de Cabra was yet entangled with his 
cavalry among the watercourses of the valley, when he 
heard the war-cries of the Moors, and saw their army 
rushing over the bridge. He recognized Boabdil him¬ 
self, by his splendid armor, the magnificent caparison 01 
his steed, and the brilliant guard which surrounded him. 
The royal host swept on toward the height of Alboha¬ 
cen : an intervening hill hid it from his sight; but loud 
shouts and cries, the din of drums and trumpets, and the 
reports of arquebuses, gave note that the battle had 
begun. 

Here was a royal prize in the field, and the count de 
Cabra unable to get into the action ! The good cavalier 
was in an agony of impatience ; every attempt to force 
his way across the valley only plunged him into new dif¬ 
ficulties. At length, after many eager but ineffectual 
efforts, he was obliged to order his troops to dismount, 


BOABDIL 18 WOUNDED. 


297 


and slowly and carefully to lead their horses back, along 
slippery paths, and amid plashes of mire and water, 
where often there was scarce a foothold. The good 
count groaned in spirit, and sweat with mere impatience 
as he went, fearing the battle might be fought, and the 
prize won or lost, before he could reach the field. Hav¬ 
ing at length toilfully unraveled the mazes of the valley, 
and arrived at firmer ground, he ordered his troops to 
mount, and led them full gallop to the height. Part of 
the good count’s wishes were satisfied, but the dearest 
were disappointed; he came in season to partake of the 
very hottest of the fight, but the royal prize was no 
longer in the field. 

Boabdil had led on his men with impetuous valor, or 
rather with hurried rashness. Heedlessly exposing him¬ 
self in the front of the battle, he received two wounds in 
the very first encounter. His guards rallied round him, 
defended him with matchless valor, and bore him, bleed¬ 
ing, out of the action. The count de Cabra arrived just 
in time to see the loyal squadron crossing the bridge, 
and slowly conveying their disabled monarch towards the 
gate of the city. 

The departure of Boabdil made no difference in the 
fury of the battle. A Moorish warrior, dark and terrible 
in aspect, mounted on a black charger and followed by 
a band of savage Gomeres, rushed forward to take the 
lead. It was Hamet el Zegri, the fierce alcayde of 
Ronda, with the remnant of his once redoubtable garri- 



298 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


soil Animated by his example, the Moors renewed their 
assaults upon the height. It was bravely defended on one 
side by the marques of Cadiz, on another by Don Alonzo 
de Aguilar; and as fast as the Moors ascended, they 
were driven back and dashed down the declivities. The 
count de Urena took his stand upon the fatal spot where 
his brother had fallen; his followers entered with zeal 
into the feelings of their commander, and heaps of the 
enemy sunk beneath their weapons—sacrifices to the 
manes of the lamented master of Calatrava. 

The battle continued with incredible obstinacy. The 
Moors knew the importance of the height to the safety of 
the city; the cavaliers felt their honors staked to main¬ 
tain it. Fresh supplies of troops were poured out of the 
city; some battled on the height, while some attacked 
the Christians who were still in the valley and among thy 
orchards and gardens, to prevent their uniting their 
forces. The troops in the valley were gradually driven 
back, and the whole host of the Moors swept around the 
height of Albohacen. The situation of the marques de 
Cadiz and his companions was perilous in the extreme : 
they were a mere handful; and, while fighting hand to 
hand with the Moors who assailed the height, were 
galled from a distance by the cross-bows and arquebuses 
of a host that augmented each moment in number. At 
this critical juncture, King Ferdinand emerged from the 
mountains with the main body of the army, and advanced 
to an eminence commanding a full view of the field of 


THE ENGLISH CAVALIER. 


299 


action. By his side was the noble English cavalier, the 
earl of Bivers. This was the first time he had witnessed 
a scene of Moorish warfare. He looked with eager in¬ 
terest at the chance-medley fight before him, where there 
was the wild career of cavalry, the irregular and tumul¬ 
tuous rush of infantry, and where Christian and Moor 
were intermingled in deadly struggle. The high blood 
of the English knight mounted at the sight, and his soul 
was stirred within him, by the confused war-cries, the 
clangor of drums and trumpets, and the reports of arque¬ 
buses. Seeing that the king was sending a reinforce¬ 
ment to the field, he entreated permission to mingle in 
the affray, and fight according to the fashion of his coun¬ 
try. His request being granted, he alighted from his 
steed: he was merely armed en bianco , that is to say, with 
morion, back-piece, and breastplate; his sword was 
girded by his side, and in his hand he wielded a power¬ 
ful battle-axe. He was followed by a body of his yeo¬ 
men, armed in like manner, and by a band of archers 
with bows made of the tough English yew-tree. The 
earl turned to his troops, and addressed them briefly and 
bluntly, according to the manner of his country. “ Re¬ 
member, my merry men all,” said he, “ the eyes of 
strangers are upon you; you are in a foreign land, fight¬ 
ing for the glory of God, and the honor of merry old 
England! ” A loud shout was the reply. The earl 
waved his battle-axe over his head; “ St. George for Eng¬ 
land ! ” cried he; and to the inspiring sound of this old 


300 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA . 


English war-cry, he and his followers rushed down to the 
battle with manly and courageous hearts.^ They soon 
made their way into the midst of the enemy; but when 
engaged in the hottest of the fight, they made no shouts 
nor outcries. They pressed steadily forward, dealing 
their blows to right and left, hewing down the Moors, 
and cutting their way, with their battle-axes, like wood¬ 
men in a forest; while the archers, pressing into the 
opening they had made, plied their bows vigorously, and 
spread death on every side. 

When the Castilian mountaineers beheld the valor of 
the English yeomanry, they would not be outdone in 
hardihood. They could not vie with them in weight or 
bulk, but for vigor and activity they were surpassed by 
none. They kept pace with them, therefore, with equal 
heart and rival prowess, and gave a brave support to the 
stout Englishmen. 

The Moors were confounded by the fury of these as¬ 
saults, and disheartened by the loss of Hamet el Zegri, 
who was carried wounded from the field. They gradu¬ 
ally fell back upon the bridge; the Christians followed 
up their advantage, and drove them over it tumultu¬ 
ously. The Moors retreated into the suburb; and Lord 
Rivers and his troops entered with them pell-mell, fight¬ 
ing in the streets and in the houses. King Ferdinand 
came up to the scene of action with his royal guard, and 


* Cura de los Ralacios. 


LOXA INVESTED. 


301 


the infidels were driven within the city walls. Thus 
were the suburbs gained by the hardihood of the English 
lord, without such an event having been premeditated.* 

The earl of Rivers, notwithstanding he had received a 
wound, still urged forward in the attack. He penetrated 
almost to the city gate, in defiance of a shower of mis¬ 
siles that slew many of his followers. A stone, hurled 
from the battlements, checked his impetuous career: it 
struck him in the face, dashed out two of his front teeth, 
and laid him senseless on the earth. He was removed to 
a short distance by his men; but, recovering his senses, 
refused to permit himself to be taken from the suburb. 

When the contest was over, the streets presented a 
piteous spectacle—so many of their inhabitants had died 
in the defense of their thresholds, or been slaughtered 
without resistance. Among the victims was a poor 
weaver, who had been at work in his dwelling at this 
turbulent moment. His wife urged him to fly into the 
city. “ Why should I fly ? ” said the Moor—“ to be re¬ 
served for hunger and slavery ? I tell you, wife, I will 
await the foe here ; for better is it to die quickly by the 
steel, than to perish piecemeal in chains and dungeons.” 
He said no more, but resumed his occupation of weav~ 
ing; and, in the indiscriminate fury of the assault, was 
slaughtered at his loom. + 

The Christians remained masters of the field, and pro- 


* Cura de los Palacios, MS. 


f Pulgar, part 3, c. 58. 




302 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


ceeded to pitch three encampments for the prosecution 
of the siege. The king, with the great body of the army, 
took a position on the side of the city next to Granada: 
the marques of Cadiz and his brave companions once 
more pitched their tents upon the height of Santo Albo- 
hacen : but the English earl planted his standard stur¬ 
dily within the suburbs he had taken. 


CHAPTER XL. 



CONCLUSION OF THE SIEGE OF LOXA. 

|AVING possession of the heights of Albohacen 
and the suburb of the city, the Christians were 
enabled to choose the most favorable situations 
for their batteries. They immediately destroyed the 
stone bridge, by which the garrison had made its sallies; 
and they threw two wooden bridges across the river, and 
others over the canals and streams, so as to establish an 
easy communication between the different camps. 

When all was arranged, a heavy fire was opened upon 
the city from various points. They threw not only balls 
of stone and iron, but great carcasses of fire, which burst 
like meteors on the houses, wrapping them instantly in 
a blaze. The walls were shattered, and the towers 
toppled down, by tremendous discharges from the lom¬ 
bards. Through the openings thus made, they could 
behold the interior of the city—houses tumbling or in 
flames — men, women, and children, flying in terror 
through the streets, and slaughtered by the shower of 
missiles, sent through the openings from smaller artil¬ 
lery, and from cross-bows and arquebuses. 


303 







304 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


The Moors attempted to repair the breaches, but fresh 
discharges from the lombards buried them beneath the 
ruins of the walls they were mending. In their despair, 
many of the inhabitants rushed forth into the narrow 
streets of the suburbs, and assailed the Christians with 
darts, scimetars, and poniards, seeking to destroy rather 
than defend, and heedless of death, in the confidence that 
to die fighting with an unbeliever, was to be translated 
at once to paradise. 

For two nights and a day this awful scene continued; 
when certain of the principal inhabitants began to reflect 
upon the hopelessness of the conflict: their king was 
disabled, their principal captains were either killed or 
wounded, their fortifications little better than heaps of 
ruins. They had urged the unfortunate Boabdil to the 
conflict: they now clamored for a capitulation. A par¬ 
ley was procured from the Christian monarch, and the 
terms of surrender were soon adjusted. They were to 
yield up the city immediately, with all their Christian 
captives, and to sally forth with as much of their prop¬ 
erty as they could take with them. The marques of 
Cadiz, on whose honor and humanity they had great 
reliance, was to escort them to Granada, to protect them 
from assault or robbery: such as chose to remain in 
Spain were to be permitted to reside in Castile, Aragon, 
or Valencia. As to Boabdil el Chico, he was to do hom¬ 
age as a vassal to King Ferdinand, but no charge was 
to be urged against him of having violated his former 


CAPITULATION OF LOXA . 


305 


pledge. If lie should yield up all pretensions to Gra¬ 
nada, the title of duke of Guadix was to be assigned 
to him, and the territory thereto annexed, provided it 
should be recovered from El Zagal within six months. 

The capitulation being arranged, they gave as hostages 
the alcayde of the city, and the principal officers, together 
with the sons of their late chieftain, the veteran Ali Atar. 
The warriors of Loxa then issued forth, humbled and 
dejected at having to surrender those walls which they 
had so long maintained with valor and renown; and the 
women and children filled the air with lamentations, 
at being exiled from their native homes. 

Last came forth Boabdil, most truly called El Zogoybi, 
the unlucky. Accustomed, as he was, to be crowned and 
uncrowned, to be ransomed and treated as a matter of 
bargain, he had acceded of course to the capitulation. 
He was enfeebled by his wounds, and had an air of dejec¬ 
tion; yet it is said, his conscience acquitted him of a 
breach of faith towards the Castilian sovereigns, and the 
personal valor he had displayed had caused a sympathy 
for him among many of the Christian cavaliers. He 
knelt to Ferdinand according to the forms of vassalage, 
and then departed, in melancholy mood, for Priego, a 
town about three leagues distant. 

Ferdinand immediately ordered Loxa to be repaired, 
and strongly garrisoned. He was greatly elated at the 
capture of this place, in consequence of his former de¬ 
feat before its walls. He passed great encomiums upon 
20 





306 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


the commanders who had distinguished themselves; and 
historians dwell particularly upon his visit to the tent of 
the English earl. His majesty consoled him for the loss 
of his teeth, by the consideration that he might other¬ 
wise have lost them by natural decay; whereas the lack 
of them would now be esteemed a beauty, rather than a 
defect, serving as a trophy of the glorious cause in which 
he had been engaged. 

The earl replied, that he gave thanks to God and to the 
holy Yirgin, for being thus honored by a visit from the 
most potent king in Christendom ; that he accepted with 
all gratitude his gracious consolation for the loss of his 
teeth, though he held it little to lose two teeth in the 
service of God, who had given him all: “ A speech,” says 
Fray Antonio Agapida, “full of most courtly wit and 
Christian piety; and one only marvels that it should have 
been made by a native of an island so far distant from 
Castile ” 



CHAPTER XLI. 


CAPTURE OF ILLORA. 

ING FERDINAND followed up his victory at 
Loxa, by laying siege to the strong town of 
Illora. This redoubtable fortress was perched 
upon a high rock, in the midst of a spacious valley. It 
was within four leagues of the Moorish capital; and its 
lofty castle, keeping vigilant watch over a wide circuit of 
country, was termed the right eye of Granada. 

The alcayde of Illora was one of the bravest of the 
Moorish commanders, and made every preparation to 
defend his fortress to the last extremity. He sent the 
women and children, the aged and infirm, to the metrop¬ 
olis. He placed barricades in the suburbs, opened doors 
of communication from house to house, and pierced their 
walls with loop-holes for the discharge of crossbows, 
arquebuses, and other missiles. 

King Ferdinand arrived before the place, with all his 
forces ; he stationed himself upon the hill of Encinilla, 
and distributed the other encampments in various situa¬ 
tions, so as to invest the fortress. Knowing the valiant 
character of the alcayde, and the desperate courage of 

307 







308 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


the Moors, he ordered the encampments to be fortified 
with trenches and palisadoes, the guards to be doubled, 
and sentinels to be placed in all the watch-towers of the 
adjacent heights. 

When all was ready, the duke del Infantado demanded 
the attack ; it was his first campaign, and he was anxious 
to disprove the royal insinuation made against the hardi¬ 
hood of his embroidered chivalry. King Ferdinand 
granted his demand, with a becoming compliment to his 
spirit; he ordered the count de Cabra to make a simul¬ 
taneous attack upon a different quarter. Both chiefs led 
forth their troops; those of the duke in fresh and bril¬ 
liant armor, richly ornamented, and as yet uninjured by 
the service of the field; those of the count were weather¬ 
beaten veterans, whose armor was dented and hacked in 
many a hard-fought battle. The youthful duke blushed 
at the contrast. “ Cavaliers,” cried he, “ we have been 
reproached with the finery of our array : let us prove that 
a trenchant blade may rest in a gilded sheath. Forward! 
to the foe ! and I trust in God, that as we enter this af¬ 
fray knights well accoutred, so we shall leave it cavaliers 
well proved.” His men responded by eager acclama¬ 
tions, and the duke led them forward to the assault. He 
advanced under a tremendous shower of stones, darts, 
balls, and arrows; but nothing could check his career; 
he entered the suburb sword in hand; his men fought 
furiously, though with great loss, for every dwelling had 
been turned into a fortress. After a severe conflict, they 


CAPTURE OF ILLORA. 


309 


succeeded in driving the Moors into the town, about the 
same time that the other suburb was carried by the 
count de Cabra and his veterans. 

The troops of the duke del Infantado came out of the 
contest thinned in number, and covered with blood, and 
dust, and wounds ; they received the highest encomiums 
of the king, and there was never afterwards any sneer at 
their embroidery. 

The suburbs being taken, three batteries, each fur¬ 
nished with eight huge lombards, were opened upon the 
fortress. The damage and havoc were tremendous, for 
the fortifications had not been constructed to withstand 
such engines. The towers were overthrown, the walls 
battered to pieces; the interior of the place was all ex¬ 
posed, houses were demolished, and many people slain. 
The Moors were terrified by the tumbling ruins, and the 
tremendous din. The alcayde had resolved to defend the 
place until the last extremity; he beheld it a heap of 
rubbish; there was no prospect of aid from Granada; his 
people had lost all spirit to fight, and were vociferous for 
a surrender; with a reluctant heart, he capitulated. The 
inhabitants were permitted to depart with all their ef¬ 
fects, excepting their arms; and were escorted in safety 
by the duke del Infantado and the count de Cabra, to the 
bridge of Pinos, within two leagues of Granada. 

King Ferdinand gave directions to repair the fortifica¬ 
tions of Illora, and to place it in a strong state of de¬ 
fense. He left, as alcayde of the town and fortress, Gon- 


310 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


salvo de Cordova, younger brother of Don Alonzo de 
Aguilar. This gallant cavalier was captain of the royal 
guards of Ferdinand and Isabella, and gave already 
proofs of that prowess which afterwards rendered him 
so renowned. 


CHAPTER XLn. 


OF THE ARRIVAL OF QUEEN ISABELLA AT THE CAMP BEFORE MOCLIN, AND 
OF THE PLEASANT SAYINGS OF THE ENGLISH EARL. 


HE war of Granada, however poets may em¬ 
broider it with the flowers of their fancy, was 
certainly one of the sternest of those iron con¬ 
flicts which have been celebrated under the name of holy 
wars. The worthy Fray Antonio Agapida dwells with 
unsated delight upon the succession of rugged mountain 
enterprises, bloody battles, and merciless sackings and 
ravages, which characterized it; yet we find him on 
one occasion pausing in the full career of victory over 
the infidels, to detail a stately pageant of the Catholic 
sovereigns. 

Immediately on the capture of Loxa, Ferdinand had 
written to Isabella, soliciting her presence at the camp, 
that he might consult with her as to the disposition of 
their newly-acquired territories. 

It was in the early part of June, that the queen 
departed from Cordova, with the princess Isabella and 
numerous ladies of her court. She had a glorious attend¬ 
ance of cavaliers and pages, with many guards and do- 

811 







312 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


mestics. There were forty mules for the use of the 
queen, the princess, and their train. 

As this courtly cavalcade approached the Bock of the 
Lovers, on the banks of the river Yeguas, they beheld a 
splendid train of knights advancing to meet them. It 
was headed by that accomplished cavalier the marques 
duke de Cadiz, accompanied by the adelantado of Anda¬ 
lusia. He had left the camp the day after the capture of 
Illora, and advanced thus far to receive the queen and 
escort her over the borders. The queen received the 
marques with distinguished honor ; for he was esteemed 
the mirror of chivalry. His actions in this war had 
become the theme of every tongue, and many hesitated 
not to compare him in prowess with the immortal Cid.* 

Thus gallantly attended, the queen entered the van¬ 
quished frontier of Granada; journeying securely along 
the pleasant banks of the Xenel, so lately subject to the 
scourings of the Moors. She stopped at Loxa, where 
she administered aid and consolation to the wounded, 
distributing money among them for their support, ac¬ 
cording to their rank. 

The king, after the capture of Illora, had removed his 
camp before the fortress of Moclin, with an intention of 
besieging it. Thither the queen proceeded, still escorted 
through the mountain roads by the marques of Cadiz. 
As Isabella drew near to the camp, the duke del Infan- 


* Cura de los Palacios. 


STATELY PROGRESS OF ISABELLA. $13 

taclo issued forth a league and a half to receive her, mag¬ 
nificently arrayed, and followed by all his chivalry in 
glorious attire. With him came the standard of Seville, 
borne by the men-at-arms of that renowned city; and 
the Prior of St. Juan, with his followers. They ranged 
themselves in order of battle, on the left of the road by 
which the queen was to pass. 

The worthy Agapida is loyally minute in his descrip¬ 
tion of the state and grandeur of the Catholic sovereigns. 
The queen rode a chestnut mule, seated in a magnificent 
saddle-chair, decorated with silver gilt. The housings of 
the mule were of fine crimson cloth; the borders embroid¬ 
ered with gold; the reins and head-piece were of satin, 
curiously embossed with needlework of silk, and wrought 
with golden letters. The queen wore a brial or regal 
skirt of velvet, under which were others of brocade ; a 
scarlet mantle, ornamented in the Moresco fashion ; and 
a black hat, embroidered round the crown and brim. 

The infanta was likewise mounted on a chestnut mule, 
richly caparisoned : she wore a brial or skirt of black 
brocade, and a black mantle ornamented like that of the 
queen. 

When the royal cavalcade passed by the chivalry of 
the duke del Infantado, which was drawn out in battle 
array, the queen made a reverence to the standard of 
Seville, and ordered it to pass to the right hand. When 
she approached the camp, the multitude ran forth to 
meet her, with great demonstrations of joy ; for she was 



314 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


universally beloved by her subjects. All the battalions 
sallied forth in military array, bearing the various stand¬ 
ards and banners of the camp, which were lowered in 
salutation as she passed. 

The king now came forth in royal state, mounted on a 
superb chestnut horse, and attended by many grandees 
of Castile. He wore a jubon or close vest of crimson 
cloth, with cuisses or short skirts of yellow satin, a loose 
cassock of brocade, a rich Moorish scimetar, and a hat 
with plumes. The grandees who attended him were 
arrayed with wonderful magnificence, each according to 
his taste and invention. 

These high and mighty princes (says Antonio Agaph 
da) regarded each other with great deference, as allied 
sovereigns, rather than with connubial familiarity, as 
mere husband and wife. When they approached each 
other, therefore, before embracing, they made three pro¬ 
found reverences, the queen taking off her hat, and re¬ 
maining in a silk net or cawl, with her face uncovered. 
The king then approached and embraced her, and kissed 
her respectfully on the cheek. He also embraced his 
daughter the princess ; and, making the sign of the cross, 
he blessed her, and kissed her on the lips.* 

The good Agapida seems scarcely to have been more 
struck with the appearance of the sovereigns than with 
that of the English earl. He followed (says he) immedi- 


* Cura de los Palacios. 


THE SOVEREIGNS AND THE EARL. 


315 


ately after the king, with great pomp, and, in an extraor¬ 
dinary manner, taking precedence of all the rest. He was 
mounted “ a la guisa ,” or with long stirrups, on a superb 
chestnut horse, with trappings of azure silk which 
reached to the ground. The housings were of mulberry, 
powdered with stars of gold. He was armed in proof, 
and wore over his armor a short French mantle of 
black brocade ; he had a white French hat with plumes, 
and carried on his left arm a small round buckler, 
banded with gold. Five pages attended him, appareled 
in silk and brocade, and mounted on horses sumptuously 
caparisoned ; he had also a train of followers, bravely at¬ 
tired after the fashion of his country. 

He advanced in a chivalrous and courteous manner, 
making his reverences first to the queen and infanta, and 
afterwards to the king. Queen Isabella received him 
graciously, complimenting him on his courageous con¬ 
duct at Loxa, and condoling with him on the loss of his 
teeth. The earl, however, made light of his disfiguring 
wound, saying that “ our blessed Lord, who had built all 
that house, had opened a window there, that he might 
see more readily what passed within ; ” * whereupon the 
worthy Fray Antonio Agapida is more than ever aston¬ 
ished at the pregnant wit of this island cavalier. The 
earl continued some little distance by the side of the 
royal family, complimenting them all with courteous 
speeches, his horse curveting and caracoling, but being 


* Pietro Martyr, Epist. 61. 





316 


CONQUEST OF OR AN AD A. 


managed with great grace and dexterity; leaving the 
grandees and the people at large not more filled with ad¬ 
miration at the strangeness and magnificence of his state 
than at the excellence of his horsemanship.* 

To testify her sense of the gallantry and services of 
this noble English knight, who had come from so far to 
assist in their wars, the queen sent him the next day 
presents of twelve horses, with stately tents, fine linen, 
two beds with coverings of gold brocade, and many other 
articles of great value. 

Having refreshed himself, as it were, with the descrip¬ 
tion of this progress of Queen Isabella to the camp, and 
the glorious pomp of the Catholic sovereigns, the worthy 
Antonio Agapida returns with renewed relish to his 
pious work of discomfiting the Moors. 

The description of this royal pageant, and the particu¬ 
lars concerning the English earl, thus given from the 
manuscript of Fray Antonio Agapida, agree precisely 
with the chronicle of Andres Bernaldes, the curate of los 
Palacios. The English earl makes no further figure in 
this war. It appears from various histories that he re¬ 
turned in the course of the year to England. In the fol¬ 
lowing year his passion for fighting took him to the 
Continent, at the head of four hundred adventurers, in 
aid of Francis, duke of Brittany^ against Louis XI. of 
France. He was killed in the same year [1488] in the 
battle of St. Alban’s, between the Bretons and the French. 


* Cura de los Palacios. 


CHAPTER X TJ TT. 


HOW KING FERDINAND ATTACKED MOCLIN, AND OF THE STRANGE EVENTS 
THAT ATTENDED ITS CAPTURE. 



HE Catholic sovereigns,” says Fray Antonio 
Agapida, “ had by this time closely clipped the 
right wing of the Moorish vulture.” In other 
words, most of the strong fortresses along the western 
frontier of Granada had fallen beneath the Christian ar¬ 
tillery. The army now lay encamped before the town 
of Moclin, on the frontier of Jaen, one of the most stub¬ 
born fortresses of the border. It stood on a high, rocky 
hill, the base of which was nearly girdled by a river: a 
thick forest protected the back part of the town, towards 
the mountain. Thus strongly situated, it domineered, 
with its frowning battlements and massive towers, all the 
mountain passes into that part of the country, and was 
called “ the shield of Granada.” It had a double arrear 
of blood to settle with the Christians; two hundred years 
before, a master of Santiago and all his cavaliers had 
been lanced by the Moors before its gates. It had re¬ 
cently made terrible slaughter among the troops of the 

good count de Cabra, in his precipitate attempt to entrap 

317 










318 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


the old Moorish monarch. The pride of Ferdinand had 
been piqued by being obliged on that occasion to recede 
from his plan, and abandon his concerted attack on the 
place; he was now prepared to take a full revenge. 

El Zagal, the old warrior king of Granada, anticipating 
a second attempt, had provided the place with ample 
ammunitions and provisions; had ordered trenches to be 
digged, and additional bulwarks thrown up; and caused 
all the old men, the women, and the children to be re¬ 
moved to the capital. 

Such was the strength of the fortress, and the diffi¬ 
culties of its position, that Ferdinand anticipated much 
trouble in reducing it, and made every preparation for a 
regular siege. In the centre of his camp were two great 
mounds, one of sacks of flour, the other of grain, which 
were called the royal granary. Three batteries of heavy 
ordnance were opened against the citadel and principal 
towers, while smaller artillery, engines for the discharge 
of missiles, arquebuses, and cross-bows were distributed 
in various places, to keep up a fire into any breaches 
that might be made, and upon those of the garrison who 
should appear on the battlements. 

The lombards soon made an impression on the works, 
demolishing a part of the wall, and tumbling down sev¬ 
eral of those haughty towers, which from their height had 
been impregnable before the invention of gunpowder. 
The Moors repaired their walls as well as they were 
able, and, still confiding in the strength of their situa- 


FERDINAND’S ATTACK ON MOCLIN. 


319 


tion, kept up a resolute defense, firing down from their 
lofty battlements and towers upon the Christian camp. 
For two nights and a day an incessant fire was kept up, 
so that there was not a moment in which the roaring of 
ordnance was not heard, or some damage sustained by 
the Christians or the Moors. It was a conflict, however, 
more of engineers and artillerists than of gallant cava¬ 
liers ; there was no sally of troops, nor shock of armed 
men, nor rush and charge of cavalry. The knights stood 
looking on with idle weapons, waiting until they should 
have an opportunity of signalizing their prowess by scal¬ 
ing the walls or storming the breaches. As the place, 
however, was assailable only in one part, there was every 
prospect of a long and obstinate resistance. 

The engineers, as usual, discharged not merely balls of 
stone and iron, to demolish the walls, but flaming balls 
of inextinguishable combustibles, designed to set fire to 
the houses. One of these, which passed high through 
the air like a meteor, sending out sparks and crackling 
as it went, entered the window of a tower which was 
used as a magazine of gunpowder. The tower blew up 
with a tremendous explosion; the Moors who were upon 
its battlements were hurled into the air, and fell mangled 
in various parts of the town; and the houses in its vi¬ 
cinity were rent and overthrown as with an earthquake. 

The Moors, who had never witnessed an explosion of 
the kind, ascribed the destruction of the tower to a mir¬ 
acle. Some who had seen the descent of the flaming 




320 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


ball, imagined that fire had fallen from heaven to punish 
them for their pertinacity. The pious Agapida, himself, 
believes that this fiery missive was conducted by divine 
agency to confound the infidels ; an opinion in which he 
is supported by other Catholic historians.* 

Seeing heaven and earth as it were combined against 
them, the Moors lost all heart: they capitulated, and 
were permitted to depart with their effects, leaving be¬ 
hind all arms and munitions of war. 

The Catholic army (says Antonio Agapida) entered 
Moclin in solemn state, not as a licentious host, intent 
upon plunder and desolation, but as a band of Christian 
warriors, coming to purify and regenerate the land. The 
standard of the cross, that ensign of this holy crusade, 
was borne in the advance, followed by the other banners 
of the army. Then came the king and queen, at the 
head of a vast number of armed cavaliers. They were 
accompanied by a band of priests and friars, with the 
choir of the royal chapel, chanting the canticle “ Te 
Deum laudamus.” As they were moving through the 
streets in this solemn manner, every sound hushed ex¬ 
cepting the anthem of the choir, they suddenly heard, 
issuing as it were from underground, a chorus of voices 
chanting in solemn response, “ Benedictum qui venit in 
nomine domini .” t The procession paused in wonder. 
The sounds rose from Christian captives, and among 

* Pulgar, Garibay, Lucio Marino Siculo, Cosas Memoral . de Hispcm. 
lib. 20. f Marino Siculo. 



THE CATHOLIC ARMY AT MOCLIN. 


321 


them several priests who were confined in subterranean 
dungeons. 

The heart of Isabella was greatly touched. She or¬ 
dered the captives to be drawn forth from their cells, and 
was still more moved at beholding, by their wan, dis¬ 
colored, and emaciated appearance, how much they had 
suffered. Their hair and beards were overgrown and 
shagged; they were wasted by hunger, half naked, and 
in chains. She ordered that they should be clothed and 
cherished, and money furnished them to bear them to 
their homes.* 

Several of the captives were brave cavaliers, who had 
been wounded and made prisoners, in the defeat of the 
count de Cabra by El Zagal, in the preceding year. 
There were also found other melancholy traces of that 
disastrous affair. On visiting the narrow pass where the 
defeat had taken place, the remains of several Christian 
warriors were found in thickets, or hidden behind rocks, 
or in the clefts of the mountains. These were some who 
had been struck from their horses, and wounded too 
severely to fly. They had crawled away from the scene 
of action, and concealed themselves to avoid falling into 
the hands of the enemy, and had thus perished miserably 
and alone. The remains of those of note were known by 
their armor and devices, and were mourned over by their 
companions who had shared the disasters of that day.f 

* lllecas, Hist. Pontif. lib. 6, c. 20, § 1. f Pulgar, part 3, cap. 61. 

21 






322 


CONQUEST OF OBAN AD A. 


The queen had these remains piously collected, as the 
relics of so many martyrs, who had fallen in the cause of 
the faith. They were interred with great solemnity in 
the mosques of Moclin, which had been purified and con¬ 
secrated to Christian worship. “There,” says Antonio 
Agapida, “ rest the bones of those truly Catholic knights, 
in the holy ground which in a manner had been sancti¬ 
fied by their blood; and all pilgrims passing through 
those mountains offer up prayers and masses for the re¬ 
pose of their souls.” 

The queen remained for some time at Moclin, adminis¬ 
tering comfort to the wounded and the prisoners, bringing 
the newly acquired territory into order, and founding 
churches and monasteries and other pious institutions. 
“ While the king marched in front, laying waste the land 
of the Philistines,” says the figurative Antonio Agapida, 
“ Queen Isabella followed his traces as the binder follows 
the reaper, gathering and garnering the rich harvest that 
has fallen beneath his sickle. In this she was greatly 
assisted by the counsels of that cloud of bishops, friars, 
and other saintly men, which continually surrounded her, 
garnering the first fruits of this infidel land into the 
granaries of the church.” Leaving her thus piously 
employed, the king pursued his career of conquest, deter¬ 
mined to lay waste the vega, and carry fire and sword to 
the very gates of Granada. 


CHAPTER XLIY. 


HOW KING FERDINAND FORAGED THE VEGA; AND OF THE BATTLE OF THE 
BRIDGE OF PINOS, AND THE FATE OF THE TWO MOORISH BROTHERS. 


ULEY ABDALLAH EL ZAGAL had been 
under a spell of ill fortune, ever since the 
suspicious death of the old king his brother. 
Success had deserted his standard; and, with his fickle 
subjects, want of success was one of the greatest crimes 
in a sovereign. He found his popularity declining, and 
he lost all confidence in his people. The Christian army 
marched in open defiance through his territories and sat 
down deliberately before his fortresses; yet he dared not 
lead forth his legions to oppose them, lest the inhabit¬ 
ants of the Albaycin, ever ripe for a revolt, should rise 
and shut the gates of Granada against his return. 

Every few days, some melancholy train entered the 
metropolis, the inhabitants of some captured town, bear¬ 
ing the few effects spared them, and weeping and bewail¬ 
ing the desolation of their homes. When the tidings ar¬ 
rived that Illora and Moclin had fallen, the people were 
seized with consternation. “ The right eye of Granada is 
extinguished,” exclaimed they; “ the shield of Granada is 









324 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


broken : wliat shall protect ns from the inroad of the 
foe ? ” When the survivors of the garrisons of those 
towns arrived, with downcast looks, bearing the marks 
of battle, and destitute of arms and standards, the popu¬ 
lace reviled them in their wrath ; but they answered, “We 
fought as long as we had force to fight, or walls to shelter 
us; but the Christians laid our town and battlements in 
ruins, and we looked in vain for aid from Granada.” 

The alcaydes of Illora and Moclin were brothers; they 
were alike in prowess, and the bravest among the Moor¬ 
ish cavaliers. They had been the most distinguished 
in those tilts and tourneys which graced the happier days 
of Granada, and had distinguished themselves in the 
sterner conflicts of the field. Acclamation had always 
followed their banners, and they had long been the de¬ 
light of the people. Yet now, when they returned after 
the capture of their fortresses, they were followed by the 
unsteady populace with execrations. The hearts of the 
alcaydes swelled with indignation ; they found the in¬ 
gratitude of their countrymen still more intolerable than 
the hostility of the Christians. 

Tidings came, that the enemy was advancing with his 
triumphant legions, to lay waste the country about Gra¬ 
nada. Still El Zagal did not dare to take the field. The 
two alcaydes of Illora and Moclin stood before him : 
“We have defended your fortresses,” said they, “until 
we were almost buried under their ruins, and for our re¬ 
ward we receive scoffings and revilings ; give us, O king, 


THE HEROIC MOORISH BROTHERS 


325 


an opportunity where knightly valor may signalize itself, 
not shut up behind stone walls, but in the open conflict 
of the field. The enemy approaches to lay our country 
desolate; give us men to meet him in the advance, and 
let shame light upon our heads if we be found wanting in 
the battle! ” 

The two brothers were sent forth, with a large force of 
horse and foot: El Zagal intended, should they be suc¬ 
cessful, to issue forth with his whole force, and by a de¬ 
cisive victory, repair the losses he had suffered. When 
the people saw the well-known standards of the brothers 
going forth to battle, there was a feeble shout; but the 
alcaydes passed on with stern countenances, for they 
knew the same voices would curse them were they to re¬ 
turn unfortunate. They cast a farewell look at fair Gra¬ 
nada, and upon the beautiful fields of their infancy, as if 
for these they were willing to lay down their lives, but 
not for an ungrateful people. 

The army of Ferdinand had arrived within two leagues 
of Granada, at the Bridge of Pinos, a pass famous in the 
wars of the Moors and Christians for many a bloody con¬ 
flict. It was the pass by which the Castilian monarchs 
generally made their inroads, and was capable of great 
defense, from the ruggedness of the country and the dif¬ 
ficulty of the bridge. The king, with the main body of 
the army, had attained the brow of a hill, when they be¬ 
held the advance guard, under the marques of Cadiz and 
the master of Santiago, furiously attacked by the enemy, 


326 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


in the vicinity of the bridge. The Moors rushed to the 
assault with their usual shouts, but with more than usual 
ferocity. There was a hard struggle at the bridge ; both 
parties knew the importance of that pass. 

The king particularly noted the prowess of two Moor¬ 
ish cavaliers, alike in arms and devices, and whom by 
their bearing and attendance he perceived to be com¬ 
manders of the enemy. They were the two brothers, the 
alcaydes of Illora and Moclin. Wherever they turned, 
they carried confusion and death into the ranks of the 
Christians; but they fought with desperation, rather than 
valor. The count de Cabra, and his brother Don Mar¬ 
tin de Cordova, pressed forward with eagerness against 
them ; but having advanced too precipitately, were sur¬ 
rounded by the foe, and in imminent danger. A young 
Christian knight, seeing their peril, hastened with his 
followers to their relief. The king recognized him for 
Don Juan de Arragon, count of Ribargoza, his own 
nephew; for he was illegitimate son of the duke of Vil- 
lahermosa, illegitimate brother of King Ferdinand. The 
splendid armor of Don Juan, and the sumptuous capari¬ 
son of his steed, rendered him a brilliant object of attack. 
He was assailed on all sides, and his superb steed slain 
under him ; yet still he fought valiantly, bearing for a 
time the brunt of the fight, and giving the exhausted 
forces of the count de Cabra time to recover breath. 

Seeing the peril of these troops and the general obsti¬ 
nacy of the fight, the king ordered the royal standard to 


FATE OF THE TWO BROTHERS. 


327 


be advanced and hastened, with all his forces, to the re¬ 
lief of the count de Cabra. At his approach, the enemy 
gave way, and retreated towards the bridge. The two 
Moorish commanders endeavored to rally their troops, 
and animate them to defend this pass to the utmost: they 
used prayers, remonstrances, menaces—but almost in 
vain. They could only collect a scanty handful of cava¬ 
liers ; with these they planted themselves at the head or 
the bridge, and disputed it inch by inch. The fight was 
hot and obstinate, for but few could contend hand to 
hand, yet many discharged cross-bows and arquebuses 
from the banks. The river was covered with the floating 
bodies of the slain. The Moorish band of cavaliers was 
almost entirely cut to pieces; the two brothers fell, cov¬ 
ered with wounds, upon the bridge they had so resolute¬ 
ly defended. They had given up the battle for lost, but 
had determined not to return alive to ungrateful Gra¬ 
nada. 

When the people of the capital heard how devotedly 
they had fallen, they lamented greatly their deaths, and 
extolled their memory: a column was erected to their 
honor in the vicinity of the bridge, which long went by 
the name of “ the Tomb of the Brothers.” 

The army of Ferdinand now marched on, and estab¬ 
lished its camp in the vicinity of Granada. The worthy 
Agapida gives many triumphant details of the ravages 
committed in the vega, which was again laid waste ; the 
grain, fruits, and other productions of the earth, de- 


328 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


stroyed—and that earthly paradise rendered a dreary 
desert. He narrates several fierce but ineffectual sallies 
and skirmishes of the Moors, in defense of their favorite 
plain; among which, one deserves to be mentioned, as it 
records the achievements of one of the saintly heroes of 
this war. 

During one of the movements of the Christian army, 
near the walls of Granada, a battalion of fifteen hundred 
cavalry, and a large force of foot, had sallied from the 
city, and posted themselves near some gardens, which 
were surrounded by a canal, and traversed by ditches, 
for the purpose of irrigation. 

The Moors beheld the duke del Infantado pass by, 
with his two splendid battalions; one of men-at-arms, 
the other of light cavalry, armed a la gineta. In com¬ 
pany with him, but following as a rear-guard, was Don 
Garcia Osorio, the belligerent bishop of Jaen, attended 
by Francisco Bovadillo, the corregidor of his city, and 
followed by two squadrons of men-at-arms, from Jaen, 
Anduxar, Ubeda, and Baeza.* The success of last year’s 
campaign had given the good bishop an inclination for 
warlike affairs, and he had once more buckled on his 
cuirass. 

The Moors were much given to stratagem in warfare. 
They looked wistfully at the magnificent squadrons of 
the duke del Infantado; but their martial discipline pre- 


Pulgar, part 3, cap. 62. 


MOORISH STRATAGEM. 


329 


eluded all attack: the good bishop promised to be a 
more easy prey. ' Suffering the duke and his troops to 
pass unmolested, they approached the squadrons of the 
bishop, and, making a pretended attack, skirmished 
slightly, and fled in apparent confusion. The bishop 
considered the day his own, and, seconded by his corre- 
gidor Bovadillo, followed with valorous precipitation. 
The Moors fled into the Huerta del Bey, or orchard of 
the king; the troops of the bishop followed hotly after 
them. 

When the Moors perceived their pursuers fairly em¬ 
barrassed among the intricacies of the garden, they 
turned fiercely upon them, while some of their number 
threw open the sluices of the Xenel. In an instant, the 
canal which encircled and the ditches which traversed 
the garden, were filled with water, and the valiant bishop 
and his followers found themselves overwhelmed by a 
deluge.* A scene of great confusion succeeded. Some 
of the men of Jaen, stoutest of heart and hand, fought 
with the Moors in the garden, while others struggled 
with the water, endeavoring to escape across the canal, 
in which attempt many horses were drowned. 

Fortunately, the duke del Infantado perceived the 
snare into which his companions had fallen, and dis¬ 
patched his light cavalry to their assistance. The Moors 
were compelled to flight, and driven along the road of 


* Pulga- 


330 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA . 


Elvira up to the gates of Granada.* Several Christian 
cavaliers perished in this affray; the bishop himself 
escaped with difficulty, having slipped from his saddle in 
crossing the canal, but saving himself by holding on to 
the tail of his charger. This perilous achievement seems 
to have satisfied the good bishop’s belligerent propensi¬ 
ties. He retired on his laurels, (says Agapida,) to his 
city of Jaen; where, in the fruition of all good things, he 
gradually waxed too corpulent for his corselet, which 
was hung up in the hall of his episcopal palace; and we 
hear no more of his military deeds, throughout the resi¬ 
due of the holy war of Granada, t 

King Ferdinand having completed his ravage of the 
vega, and kept El Zagal shut up in his capital, conducted 
his army back through the pass of Lope to rejoin Queen 
Isabella at Moclin. The fortresses lately taken being 
well garrisoned and supplied, he gave the command of 
the frontier to his cousin, Don Fadrique de Toledo, after¬ 
wards so famous in the Netherlands as the duke of Alva. 
The campaign being thus completely crowned with suc¬ 
cess, the sovereigns returned in triumph to the city of 
Cordova. 

* Pulgar. 

f “ Don Luis Osorio fue obispo de Jaen desde el ano de 1483, y presidio 
in esta Iglesia hasta el de 1496 in que murio en Flandes, a donds fue 
acompaSando a la princesa Dona Juana, esposa del archiduque Don Fe¬ 
lipe .”—Eapafta Sagrada, por Fr. M. Risco, tom. 41, trat. 77, cap. 4 


CHAPTER SLY. 


ATTEMPT OF EL ZAGAJL UPON THE LIFE OF BOABDIL, AND HOW THE LATTER 
WAS ROUSED TO ACTION. 



O sooner did the last squadron of Christian cav¬ 
alry disappear behind the mountains of Elvira, 
and the note of its trumpets die away upon 
the ear, than the long-suppressed wrath of Muley El Za- 
gal burst forth. He determined no longer to be half a 
king, reigning over a divided kingdom, in a divided capi¬ 
tal; but to exterminate, by any means, fair or foul, his 
nephew Boabdil and his faction. He turned furiously 
upon those whose factious conduct had deterred him 
from sallying upon the foe; some he punished by confis¬ 
cations, others by banishment, others by death. Once 
undisputed monarch of the entire kingdom, he trusted to 
his military skill to retrieve his fortunes, and drive the 
Christians over the frontier. 

Boabdil, however, had again retired to Yelez el Blanco, 
on the confines of Murcia, where he could avail himself, 
in case of emergency, of any assistance or protection 
afforded him by the policy of Ferdinand. His defeat 
had blighted his reviving fortunes, for the people con- 





332 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA . 


sidered him as inevitably doomed to misfortune. Still, 
while he lived, El Zagal knew he would be a rallying 
point for faction, and liable at any moment to be ele¬ 
vated into power by the capricious multitude. He had 
recourse, therefore, to the most perfidious means, to 
compass his destruction. He sent ambassadors to him, 
representing the necessity of concord for the salvation 
of the kingdom, and even offering to resign the title of 
king, and to become subject to his sway, on receiving 
some estate on which he could live in tranquil retire¬ 
ment. But while the ambassadors bore these words of 
peace, they were furnished with poisoned herbs, which 
they were to administer secretly to Boabdil; and if they 
failed in this attempt, they had pledged themselves to 
dispatch him openly, while engaged in conversation. 
They were instigated to this treason by promises of great 
reward, and by assurances from the alfaquis that Boab¬ 
dil was an apostate, whose death would be acceptable to 
Heaven. 

The young monarch was secretly apprised of the con¬ 
certed treason, and refused an audience to the ambassa¬ 
dors. He denounced his uncle as the murderer of his 
father and his kindred, and the usurper of his throne; 
and vowed never to relent in hostility to him, until he 
should place his head on the walls of the Alhambra. 

Open war again broke out between the two monarchs, 
though feebly carried on, in consequence of their mutual 
embarrassments. Ferdinand again extended his assist- 


MESSAGE FROM AYXA LA HORRA. 


333 


ance to Boabdil, ordering the commanders of his fort¬ 
resses to aid him in all enterprises against his uncl6, 
and against such places as refused to acknowledge him 
as king; and Don Juan de Bonavides, who commanded 
in Lorca, even made inroads in his name, into the terri¬ 
tories of Almeria, Baza, and Guadix, which owned alle¬ 
giance to El Zagal. 

The unfortunate Boabdil had three great evils to con¬ 
tend with—the inconstancy of his subjects, the hostility 
of his uncle, and the friendship of Ferdinand. The last 
was by far the most baneful; his fortunes withered under 
it. He was looked upon as the enemy of his faith and 
of his country. The cities shut their gates against him ; 
the people cursed him; even the scanty band of cava 
liers, who had hitherto followed his ill-starred banner, 
began to desert him; for he had not wherewithal to re¬ 
ward, nor even to support them. His spirits sank with 
his fortune, and he feared that in a little time he should 
not have a spot of earth whereon to plant his standard, 
nor an adherent to rally under it. 

In the midst of his despondency, he received a mes¬ 
sage from his lion-hearted mother, the sultana Ayxa la 
Horra. It was brought by the steadfast adherent to 
their fortunes, Aben Comixa. “For shame,” said she, 
“ to linger timorously about the borders of your king¬ 
dom, when a usurper is seated in your capital. Why 
look abroad for perfidious aid, when you have loyal 
hearts beating true to you in Granada ? The Albaycin 


334 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


is ready to throw open its gates to receive you. Strike 
home vigorously—a sudden blow may mend all, or make 
an end. A throne or a grave!—for a king there is no 
honorable medium.” 

Boabdil was of an undecided character, but there are 
circumstances which bring the most wavering to a de¬ 
cision, and when once resolved they are apt to act with 
a daring impulse, unknown to steadier judgments. The 
message of the sultana roused him from a dream. Gra¬ 
nada, beautiful Granada, with its stately Alhambra, its 
delicious gardens, its gushing and limpid fountains spar¬ 
kling among groves of orange, citron, and myrtle, rose 
before him. “ What have I done,” exclaimed he, “ that I 
should be an exile from this paradise of my forefathers 
—a wanderer and fugitive in my own kingdom, while a 
murderous usurper sits proudly upon my throne ? Surely 
Allah will befriend the righteous cause; one blow, and 
all may be my own.” 

He summoned his scanty band of cavaliers. “ Who is 
ready to follow his monarch unto the death ? ” said 
he: and every one laid his hand upon his scimetar 
4t Enough! ” said he; “ let each man arm himself and 
prepare his steed in secret, for an enterprise of toil and 
peril: if we succeed, our reward is empire.” 


CHAPTER XLVI. 


HOW BOABDIL RETURNED SECRETLY TO GRANADA, AND HCV HE WAS RE¬ 
CEIVED.—SECOND EMBASSY OF DON JUAN DE VERA, AND HIS PERILS IN 
THE ALHAMBRA. 

^ ^ ie ^ an( i God,” exclaims an old Arabian 
chronicler, “ is the destiny of princes; he alone 
SJfel giveth empire. A Moorish horseman, mounted 
on a fleet Arabian steed, was one day traversing the 
mountains which extend between Granada and the fron¬ 
tier of Murcia. He galloped swiftly through the valleys, 
but paused and looked out cautiously from the summit 
of every height. A squadron of cavaliers followed warily 
at a distance. There were fifty lances. The richness of 
their armor and attire showed them to be warriors of 
noble rank, and their leader had a lofty and prince-like 
demeanor.” The squadron thus described by the Ara¬ 
bian chronicler, was the Moorish king Boabdil and his 
devoted followers. 

For two nights and a day they pursued their adventur¬ 
ous journey, avoiding all popular parts of the country, 
and choosing the most solitary passes of the mountains. 
They suffered severe hardships and fatigues, but suffered 

335 




CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


m 

without a murmur: they were accustomed to rugged 
campaigning, and their steeds were of generous and un¬ 
yielding spirit. It was midnight, and all was dark and 
silent as they descended from the mountains, and ap¬ 
proached the city of Granada. They passed along quiet¬ 
ly under the shadow of its walls until they arrived near 
the gate of the Albaycin. Here Boabdil ordered his fol¬ 
lowers to halt, and remain concealed. Taking but four 
or five with him, he advanced resolutely to the gate and 
knocked with the hilt of his scimetar. The guards de¬ 
manded who sought to enter at that unseasonable hour. 
“Your king!” exclaimed Boabdil, “open the gate and 
admit him! ” 

The guards held forth a light, and recognized the per¬ 
son of the youthful monarch. They were struck with 
sudden awe, and threw open the gates ; and Boabdil and 
his followers entered unmolested. They galloped to the 
dwellings of the principal inhabitants of the Albaycin, 
thundering at their portals, and summoning them to 
rise and take arms for their rightful sovereign. The 
summons was instantly obeyed: trumpets resounded 
throughout the streets ; the gleam of torches and the 
flash of arms showed the Moors hurrying to their gath¬ 
ering-places : by daybreak, the whole force of the Albay¬ 
cin was rallied under the standard of Boabdil, and Aben 
Comixa was made alcayde of the fortress. Such was the 
success of this sudden and desperate act of the young 
monarch ’ for we are assured by contemporary histori- 


BOABDIL’S SECRET RETURJS. 


337 


ans, that there had been no previous concert or arrange¬ 
ment. “ As the guards opened the gates of the city to 
admit him,” observes a pious chronicler, “ so God opened 
the hearts of the Moors to receive him as their king.” * 

In the morning early, the tidings of this event roused 
El Zagal from his slumbers in the Alhambra. The fiery 
old warrior assembled his guard in haste, and made his 
way sword in hand to the Albaycin, hoping to come upon 
his nephew by surprise. He was vigorously met by 
Boabdil and his adherents, and driven back into the 
quarter of the Alhambra. An encounter took place be¬ 
tween the two kings, in the square before the principal 
mosque ; here they fought hand to hand with implacable 
fury, as though it had been agreed to decide their com¬ 
petition for the crown by single combat. In the tumult 
of this chance-medley affray, however, they were sepa¬ 
rated, and the party of El Zagal was ultimately driven 
from the square. 

The battle raged for some time in the streets and 
places of the city, but finding their powers of mischief 
cramped within such narrow limits, both parties sallied 
forth into the fields, and fought beneath the walls until 
evening. Many fell on both sides, and at night each 
party withdrew into its quarter, until the morning gave 
them light to renew the unnatural conflict. For several 
days, the two grand divisions of the city remained like 


Pulgar. 


338 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


hostile powers arrayed against each other. The party 
of the Alhambra was more numerous than that of the Al¬ 
baycin, and contained most of the nobility and chivalry ; 
but the adherents of Boabdil were men hardened and 
strengthened by labor, and habitually skilled in the exer¬ 
cise of arms. 

The Albaycin underwent a kind of siege by the forces 
of El Zagal; they effected breaches in the walls, and 
made repeated attempts to carry it sword in hand, but 
were as often repulsed. The troops of Boabdil, on the 
other hand, made frequent sallies; and in the conflicts 
which took place, the hatred of the combatants arose to 
such a pitch of fury, that no quarter was given on either 
side. 

Boabdil perceived the inferiority of his force; he 
dreaded also that his adherents, being for the most part 
tradesmen and artisans, would become impatient of this 
interruption of their gainful occupations, and disheart¬ 
ened by these continual scenes of carnage. He sent 
missives, therefore, in all haste, to Don Eadrique de To¬ 
ledo, who commanded the Christian forces on the fron¬ 
tier, entreating his assistance. 

Don Fadrique had received instructions from the 
politic Ferdinand, to aid the youthful monarch in all his 
contests with his uncle. He advanced with a body of 
troops near to Granada. The moment Boabdil discerned, 
from the towers of the Albaycin, the Christian banners 
and lances winding round the base of the mountain of 


CHRISTIAN AID TO BOABDIL. 


339 


Elvira, he sallied forth to meet them, escorted by a 
squadron of Abencerrages under Aben Comixa. El Za- 
gal, who was equally on the alert, and apprised that the 
Christian troops came in aid of his nephew, likewise 
sallied forth and drew up his troops in battle array, 
Don Fadrique, wary lest some treachery should be in¬ 
tended, halted among some plantations of olives, retained 
Boabdil b}^ his side, and signified his wish that Aben 
Comixa would advance with his squadron and offer battle 
to the old king. The provocation was given, but El 
Zagal maintained his position. He threw out some light 
parties, however, which skirmished with the Abencer¬ 
rages of Aben Comixa, after which he caused his trum¬ 
pets to sound a recall, and retired into the city; morti¬ 
fied, it is said, that the Christian cavaliers should witness 
these fratricidal discords between true believers. 

Don Fadrique, still distrustful, drew off to a distance, 
and encamped for the night near the bridge of Cabillas. 

Early in the morning, a Moorish cavalier with an 
escort approached the advance guard, and his trumpets 
sounded a parley. He craved an audience, as an envoy 
from El Zagal, and was admitted to the tent of Don Fa¬ 
drique. El Zagal had learnt that the Christian troops 
had come to aid his nephew, and now offered to enter 
into an alliance with them on terms still more advanta¬ 
geous than those of Boabdil. The wary Don Fadrique 
listened to the Moor with apparent complacency, but 
determined to send one of his most intrepid and discreet 


340 


CONQUEST OF OBAN AD A. 


cavaliers, under the protection of a flag, to hold a confer¬ 
ence with the old king within the very walls of the Al¬ 
hambra. The officer chosen for this important mission 
was Don Jnan de Yera, the same stanch and devout 
cavalier, who in times preceding the war had borne the 
message from the Castilian sovereigns, to old Muley 
Abul Hassan, demanding arrears of tribute. Don Juan 
was received with great ceremony by the king. No rec¬ 
ords remain of his diplomatic negotiations, but they 
extended into the night, and it being too late to return to 
camp, he was sumptuously lodged in an apartment of the 
Alhambra. In the morning, one of the courtiers about 
the palace, somewhat given to jest and raillery, invited 
Don Juan to a ceremony which some of the alfaquis were 
about to celebrate in the mosque of the palace. The 
religious punctilio of this most discreet cavalier im¬ 
mediately took umbrage at what he conceived a banter. 
“ The servants of Queen Isabella of Castile,” replied he 
stiffly and sternly, “ who bear on their armor the cross of 
St. Jago, never enter the temples of Mahomet, but to 
level them to the earth, and trample on them.” 

The Moslem courtier retired somewhat disconcerted 
by this Catholic, but not very courteous reply, and 
reported it to a renegado of Antiquera. The latter, 
eager, like all renegadoes, to show devotion to his newly 
adopted creed, volunteered to return with the courtier 
and have a tilt of words with the testy diplomatist. 
They found Don Juan playing a game of chess with the 


SECOND EMBASSY OF DE VERA. 


341 


alcayde of the Alhambra, and took occasion to indulge 
in sportive comments on some of the mysteries of the 
Christian religion. The ire of this devout knight and 
discreet ambassador began to kindle; but he restrained 
it within the limits of lofty gravity. “ You would do 
well,” said he, “ to cease talking about what you do not 
understand.” This only provoked light attacks of the 
witlings; until one of them dared to make some degrad¬ 
ing and obscene comparison between the Blessed Virgin 
and Amina, the mother of Mahomet. In an instant Don 
Juan sprang to his feet, dashed chess-board and chess¬ 
men aside, and drawing his sword, dealt, says the curate 
of los Palacios, such a fermosa cachillada (such a hand¬ 
some slash) across the head of the blaspheming Moor, 
as felled him to the earth. The renegado, seeing his 
comrade fall, fled for his life, making the halls and gal¬ 
leries ring with his outcries. Guards, pages, and attend¬ 
ants rushed in, but Don Juan kept them at bay, until 
the appearance of the king restored order. On inquir¬ 
ing into the cause of the affray, he acted with proper dis¬ 
crimination. Don Juan was held sacred as an ambassa¬ 
dor, and the renegado was severely punished for having 
compromised the hospitality of the royal palace. 

The tumult in the Alhambra, however, soon caused a 
more dangerous tumult in the city. It was rumored 
that Christians had been introduced into the palace 
with some treasonable design. The populace caught up 
arms, and ascended in throngs to the gate of Justice, de- 


342 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


manding the death of all Christian spies and those who 
had introduced them. This was no time' to reason with 
an infuriate mob, when the noise of their clamors might 
bring the garrison of the Albaycin to back them. Noth¬ 
ing was left for El Zagal but to furnish Don Juan with 
a disguise, a swift horse, and an escort, and to let him 
out of the Alhambra by a private gate. It was a sore 
grievance to the stately cavalier to have to submit to 
these expedients, but there was no alternative. In 
Moorish disguise he passed through crowds that were 
clamoring for his head; and once out of the gate of 
the city, gave reins to his horse, nor ceased spurring 
until he found himself safe under the banners of Don 
Fadrique. 

Thus ended the second embassy of Don Juan de Vera, 
less stately, but more perilous than the first. Don 
Fadrique extolled his prowess, whatever he may have 
thought of his discretion; and rewarded him with a 
superb horse, while at the same time he wrote a letter to 
El Zagal, thanking him for the courtesy and protection 
he had observed to his ambassador. Queen Isabella also 
was particularly delighted with the piety of Don Juan, 
and his promptness in vindicating the immaculate char¬ 
acter of the Blessed Virgin, and, beside conferring on 
him various honorable distinctions, made him a royal 
present of three hundred thousand maravadils.* 

* Alcantara, Hist. Granad. vol. 3, c. 17, apud De Harro Nobiliaric 
G&nealogico, lib. 5, cap. 15. 


RETURN OF BE VERA. 


343 


The report brought by this cavalier of affairs in Gra¬ 
nada, together with the preceding skirmishings between 
the Moorish factions before the walls, convinced Don 
Fadrique that there was no collusion between the mon- 
archs; on returning to his frontier post, therefore, he 
sent Boabdil a reinforcement of Christian foot-soldiers 
and arquebusiers, under Fernan Alvarez de Sotomayer, 
alcayde of Colomera. This was as a firebrand thrown in 
to light up anew the flames of war in the city, which re¬ 
mained raging between the Moorish inhabitants for the 
space of fifty days. 


CHAPTER XLVIL 


HOW KING FERDINAND LAID SIEGE TO VELEZ MALAGA. 

ITHERTO, the events of this renowned war 
have been little else than a succession of bril¬ 
liant but brief exploits, such as sudden forays, 
wild skirmishes among the mountains, and the surprisals 
of castles, fortresses, and frontier towns. We approach 
now to more important and prolonged operations, in 
which ancient and mighty cities, the bulwarks of Gra¬ 
nada, were invested by powerful armies, subdued by slow 
and regular sieges, and thus the capital left naked and 
alone. 

The glorious triumphs of the Christian sovereigns 
(says Fray Antonio Agapida) had resounded throughout 
the East, and filled all heathenesse with alarm. The 
Grand-Turk Bajazet II., and his deadly foe the grand 
soldan of Egypt, suspending for a time their bloody 
feuds, entered into a league to protect the religion of 
Mahomet and the kingdom of Granada from the hostili¬ 
ties of the Christians. It was concerted between them, 
that Bajazet should send a powerful armada against the 
island of Sicily, then appertaining to the Spanish crown, 

344 







SIEGE OF VELEZ MALAGA. 


345 


for the purpose of distracting the attention of the Cas¬ 
tilian sovereigns ; while, at the same time, great bodies of 
troops should be poured into Granada, from the opposite 
coast of Africa. 

Ferdinand and Isabella received timely intelligence of 
these designs. They resolved at once to carry the war 
into the sea-board of Granada, to possess themselves of 
its ports, and thus, as it were, to bar the gates of the 
kingdom against all external aid. Malaga was to be the 
main object of attack: it was the principal sea-port of 
the kingdom, and almost necessary to its existence. It 
had long been the seat of opulent commerce, sending 
many ships to the coasts of Syria and Egypt. It was 
also the great channel of communication with Africa, 
through which were introduced supplies of money, 
troops, arms, and steeds, from Tunis, Tripoli, Fez, Tre- 
mezan, and other Barbary powers. It was emphatically 
called, therefore, “the hand and mouth of Granada.” 
Before laying siege to this redoubtable city, however, it 
was deemed necessary to secure the neighboring city of 
Velez Malaga and its dependent places, which might 
otherwise harass the besieging army. 

For this important campaign, the nobles of the king¬ 
dom were again summoned to take the field with their 
forces, in the spring of 1487. The menaced invasion of 
the infidel powers of the East, had awakened new ardor 
in the bosoms of all true Christian knights; and so zeal¬ 
ously did they respond to the summons of the sovereigns, 


346 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


that an army of twenty thousand cavalry and fifty thou¬ 
sand foot, the flower of Spanish warriors, led by the 
bravest of Spanish cavaliers, thronged the renowned city 
of Cordova, at the aj^pointed time. 

On the night before this mighty host set forth upon its 
march, an earthquake shook the city. The inhabitants, 
awakened by the shaking of the walls and rocking of the 
towers, fled to the courts and squares, fearing to be over¬ 
whelmed by the ruins of their dwellings. The earth¬ 
quake was most violent in the quarter of the royal resi¬ 
dence, the site of the ancient palace of the Moorish kings. 
Many looked upon this as an omen of some impending 
evil; but Fray Antonio Agapida, in that infallible spirit 
of divination which succeeds an event, plainly reads in it 
a presage that the empire of the Moors was about to be 
shaken to its centre. 

It was on Saturday, the eve of the Sunday of Palms 
(says a worthy and loyal chronicler of the time), that the 
most Catholic monarch departed with his army, to ren¬ 
der service to Heaven, and make war upon the Moors.* 
Heavy rains had swelled all the streams, and rendered 
the roads deep and difficult. The king, therefore, di¬ 
vided his host into two bodies. In one he put all the 
artillery, guarded by a strong body of horse, and com¬ 
manded by the master of Alcantara and Martin Alonzo, 
senior of Montemayor. This division was to proceed bj 


* Pulgar, Cronica de los Reyes Catholicos . 


MARCH OF THE ROYAL ARMY. 


347 


the road through the valleys, where pasturage abounded 
for the oxen which drew the ordnance. 

The main body of the army was led by the king in per¬ 
son. It was divided into numerous battalions, each com¬ 
manded by some distinguished cavalier. The king took 
the rough and perilous road of the mountains, and few 
mountains are more rugged and difficult than those of 
Andalusia. The roads are mere mule-paths, straggling 
amidst rocks and along the verge of precipices, clamber¬ 
ing vast craggy heights, or descending into frightful 
chasms and ravines, with scanty and uncertain foothold 
for either man or steed. Four thousand pioneers were 
sent in advance, under the alcayde de los Donceles, to 
conquer, in some degree, the asperities of the road. 
Some had pickaxes and crowbars to break the rocks, 
others had implements to construct bridges over the 
mountain torrents, while it was the duty of others to lay 
stepping-stones in the smaller streams. As the country 
was inhabited by fierce Moorish mountaineers, Don 
Diego de Castrillo was dispatched, with a body of horse 
and foot, to take possession of the heights and passes. 
Notwithstanding every precaution, the royal army suf¬ 
fered excessively on its march. At one time there was 
no place to encamp, for five leagues of the most toilsome 
and mountainous country; and many of the beasts of 
burden sank down, and perished on the road. 

It was with the greatest joy, therefore, that the royal 
army emerged from these stern and frightful defiles, and 


348 


CONQUEST OF ORAN ABA. 


came to where they looked down upon the vega of Velez 
Malaga. The region before them was one of the most 
delectable to the eye, that ever was ravaged by an army. 
Sheltered from every rude blast by a screen of moun¬ 
tains, and sloping and expanding to the south, this lovely 
valley was quickened by the most generous sunshine, 
watered by the silver meanderings of the Velez, and re¬ 
freshed by cooling breezes from the Mediterranean. The 
sloping hills were covered with vineyards and olive-trees; 
the distant fields waved with grain, or were verdant with 
pasturage ; while round the city were delightful gardens, 
the favorite retreats of the Moors, where their white 
pavilions gleamed among groves of oranges, citrons, and 
pomegranates, and were surmounted by stately palms— 
those plants of southern growth, bespeaking a generous 
climate and a cloudless sky. 

In the upper part of this delightful valley, the city of 
Velez Malaga reared its warrior battlements in stern con¬ 
trast to the landscape. It was built on the declivity of 
a steep and insulated hill, and strongly fortified by walls 
and towers. The crest of the hill rose high above the 
town, into a mere crag, inaccessible on every other side, 
and crowned by a powerful castle, which domineered 
over the surrounding country. Two suburbs swept down 
into the valley, from the skirts of the town, and were de¬ 
fended by bulwarks and deep ditches. The vast ranges 
of gray mountains, often capped with clouds, which rose 
to the north, were inhabited by a hardy and warlike 


IMMINENT PERIL OF TEE KING . 


349 


race, whose strong fortresses of Comares, Canillas, Com- 
peta, and Benamargosa, frowned down from cragged 
heights. 

When the Christian host arrived in sight of this val¬ 
ley, a squadron was hovering on the smooth sea before 
it, displaying the banner of Castile. This was com¬ 
manded by the count of Trevento, and consisted of four 
armed galleys, conveying a number of caravels, laden 
with supplies for the army. 

After surveying the ground, king Ferdinand encamped 
on the side of a mountain which advanced close to the 
city, and was the last of a rugged sierra, or chain of 
heights, that extended quite to Granada. On the sum¬ 
mit of this mountain, and overlooking the camp, was a 
Moorish town, powerfully fortified, called Bentomiz, con¬ 
sidered capable of yielding great assistance to Yelez 
Malaga. Several of the generals remonstrated with the 
king for choosing a post so exposed fo assaults from the 
mountaineers ; but he replied that he should thus cut off 
all communication between Bentomiz and the city; and 
that as to the danger, his soldiers must keep the more 
vigilant guard against surprise. 

King Ferdinand rode about, attended by several cava¬ 
liers and a small number of cuirassiers, appointing the 
various stations of the camp. Having directed a body 
of foot-soldiers to possess themselves, as an advanced 
guard, of an important height which overlooked the city, 
he retired to a tent to take refreshment. While at table, 


350 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


he was startled by a sudden uproar, and, looking forth, 
beheld his soldiers flying before a superior force of the 
enemy. The king had on no other armor but a cuirass ; 
seizing a lance, however, he sprang upon his horse and 
galloped to protect the fugitives, followed by his handful 
of knights and cuirassiers. When the soldiers saw the 
king hastening to their aid, they turned upon their pur¬ 
suers. Ferdinand, in his eagerness, threw himself into 
the midst of the foe. One of his grooms was killed be¬ 
side him; but, before the Moor who slew him could es¬ 
cape, the king transfixed him with his lance. He then 
sought to draw his sword, which hung at his saddle-bow, 
but in vain. Never had he been exposed to such peril; 
he was surrounded by the enemy, without a weapon 
wherewith to defend himself. 

In this moment of awful jeopardy, the marques of 
Cadiz, the count de Cabra, the adelantado of Murcia, 
with two other cavaliers, named Garcilasso de la Yega 
and Diego de Atayde, came galloping to the scene of 
action, and, surrounding the king, made a rampart of 
their bodies against the assaults of the Moors. The 
horse of the marques was pierced by an arrow, and that 
worthy cavalier exposed to imminent danger; but, with 
the aid of his valorous companions, he quickly put the 
enemy to flight, and pursued them, with slaughter, to the 
very gates of the city. 

When those loyal warriors returned from the pursuit, 
they remonstrated with the king for exposing his life in 


ABM8 OF VELEZ MALAGA. 


351 


personal conflict, seeing that he had so many valiant cap¬ 
tains whose business it was to fight. They reminded 
him that the life of a prince was the life of his people, 
and that many a brave army was lost by the loss of its 
commander. They entreated him, therefore, in future to 
protect them with the force of his mind in the cabinet, 
rather than of his arm in the field. 

Ferdinand acknowledged the wisdom of their advice, 
but declared that he could not see his people in peril 
without venturing his person to assist them,—a reply (say 
the old chroniclers) which delighted the whole army, in¬ 
asmuch as they saw that he not only governed them as a 
good king, but protected them as a valiant captain. He, 
however, was conscious of the extreme peril to which he 
had been exposed, and made a vow never again to ven¬ 
ture into battle without having his sword girt to his 
side.* 

When this achievement of the king was related to Isa¬ 
bella, she trembled amidst her joy at his safety; and 
afterwards, in memorial of the event, granted to Velez 
Malaga, as the arms of the city, the figure of the king on 
horseback, with a groom lying dead at his feet, and the 
Moors flying, t 

The camp was formed, but the artillery was yet on 
the road, advancing with infinite labor, at the rate of 
merely a league a day; for heavy rains had converted the 

* Illescas, Hist. Pontif. lib. 6, c. 20. Vedmar, Hist. Velez Malaga . 
f Ibid. 


352 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


streams of the valleys into raging torrents, and com¬ 
pletely broken up the roads. In the meantime, king 
Ferdinand ordered an assault on the suburbs of the city. 
They were carried, after a sanguinary conflict of six 
hours, in which many Christian cavaliers were killed and 
wounded, and, among the latter, Don Alvaro of Portugal, 
son of the duke of Braganza. The suburbs were then 
fortified towards the city with trenches and palisades, 
and garrisoned by a chosen force, under Don Fadrique 
de Toledo. Other trenches were digged round the city, 
and from the suburbs to the royal camp, so as to cut off 
all communication with the surrounding country. 

Bodies of troops were also sent to take possession of 
the mountain passes, by which the supplies for the army 
had to be brought. The mountains, however, were so 
steep and rugged, and so full of defiles and lurking- 
places, that the Moors could sally forth and retreat in 
perfect security ; frequently swooping down upon Chris¬ 
tian convoys, and bearing off both booty and prisoners to 
their strongholds. Sometimes the Moors would light 
fires at night, on the sides of the mountains, which 
would be answered by fires from the watch-towers and 
fortresses. By these signals they would concert assaults 
upon the Christian camp, which, in consequence, was 
obliged to be continually on the alert. 

King Ferdinand flattered himself that the manifesta¬ 
tion of his force had struck sufficient terror into the city, 
and that by offers of clemency it might be induced to 


THE KING’S LETTER. 


353 


capitulate. He wrote a letter, therefore, to the com¬ 
manders, promising, in case of immediate surrender, that 
all the inhabitants should be permitted to depart with 
their effects; but threatening them with fire and sword 
if they persisted in defense. This letter was dispatched 
by a cavalier named Carvajal, who, putting it on the end 
of a lance, reached it to the Moors on the walls of the 
city. Abul Cacim Yanegas, son of Eeduan and alcayde 
of the fortress, replied that the king was too noble and 
magnanimous to put such a threat in execution, and that 
he should not surrender, as he knew the artillery could 
not be brought to the camp, and he was promised succor 
by the king of Granada. 

At the same time that he received this reply, the king 
learned that at the strong town of Comares, about two 
leagues distant from the camp, a large number of war¬ 
riors had assembled from the Axarquia, the same moun¬ 
tains in which the Christian cavaliers had been mas¬ 
sacred in the beginning of the war, and that others were 
daily expected, for this rugged sierra was capable of 
furnishing fifteen thousand fighting men. 

King Ferdinand felt that his army, thus disjointed, and 
inclosed in an enemy’s country, was in a perilous situa¬ 
tion, and that the utmost discipline and vigilance were 
necessary. He put the camp under the strictest regula¬ 
tions, forbidding all gaming, blasphemy, or brawl, and 
expelling all loose women and their attendant bully ruf¬ 
fians, the usual fomenters of riot and contention among 
23 


354 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AT) A. 


soldiery. He ordered that none should sally forth to 
skirmish without permission from their commanders; 
that none should set fire to the woods on the neighbor¬ 
ing mountains; and that all word of security given to 
Moorish places or individuals should be inviolably ob¬ 
served. These regulations were enforced by severe pen¬ 
alties, and had such salutary effect that, though a vast 
host of various people was collected together, not an 
opprobrious epithet was heard, nor a weapon drawn in 
quarrel. 

In the meantime, the cloud of war continued to gather 
about the summits of the mountains, and multitudes of 
the fierce warriors of the sierra descended to the lower 
heights of Bentomiz, which overhung the camp, intend¬ 
ing to force their way to the city. A detachment was 
sent against them, which, after sharp fighting, drove 
them to the higher cliffs, where it was impossible to pur¬ 
sue them. 

Ten days had elapsed since the encampment of the 
army, yet still the artillery had not arrived. The lom¬ 
bards and other heavy ordnance were left in despair, at 
Antiquera; the rest came groaning slowly through the 
narrow valleys, which were filled with long trains of 
artillery, and cars laden with munitions. At length part 
of the smaller ordnance arrived within half a league of 
the camp, and the Christians were animated with the 
hopes of soon being able to make a regular attack upon 
the fortifications of the city. 


CHAPTER Xl/Vm. 


HOW KING FERDINAND AND HIS ARMY WERE EXPOSED TO IMMINENT PERIL, 
BEFORE YELEZ MALAGA. 

HILE the standard of the cross waved on the 
hills before Yelez Malaga, and every height 
and cliff bristled with hostile arms, the civil 
war between the factions of the Alhambra and the Al- 
baycin, or rather between El Zagal and El Chico, con¬ 
tinued to convulse the city of Granada. The tidings of 
the investment of Yelez Malaga at length roused the at¬ 
tention of the old men and the alfaquis, whose heads 
were not heated by the daily broils, and they endeavored 
to arouse the people to a sense of their common danger. 

“Why,” said they, “continue these brawls between 
brethren and kindred? what battles are these, where 
even triumph is ignominious, and the victor blushes and 
conceals his scars ? Behold the Christians ravaging the 
land won by the valor and blood of your forefathers; 
dwelling in the houses they built, sitting under the trees 
they planted, while your brethren wander about, house¬ 
less and desolate. Do you wish to seek your real foe ?— 
he is encamped on the mountain of Bentomiz. Do you 

355 




356 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


want a field for the display of your valor ?—you will find 
it before the walls of Yelez Malaga.” 

When they had roused the spirit of the people, they 
made their way to the rival kings, and addressed them 
with like remonstrances. Hamet Aben Zarrax, the 
inspired santon, reproached El Zagal with his blind and 
senseless ambition: “You are striving to be king,” said 
he, bitterly, “ yet suffer the kingdom to be lost! ” 

El Zagal found himself in a perplexing dilemma. He 
had a double war to wage,—with the enemy without, and 
the enemy within. Should the Christians gain posses¬ 
sion of the sea-coast, it would be ruinous to the kingdom; 
should he leave Granada to oppose them, his vacant 
throne might be seized on by his nephew. He made a 
merit of necessity, and, pretending to yield to the remon¬ 
strances of the alfaquis, endeavored to compromise with 
Boabdil. He expressed deep concern at the daily losses 
of the country, caused by the dissensions of the capital; 
an opportunity now presented to retrieve all by a blow. 
The Christians had in a manner put themselves in a tomb 
between the mountains—nothing remained but to throw 
the earth upon them. He offered to resign the title of 
king, to submit to the government of his nephew, and 
fight under his standard; all he desired was to hasten to 
the relief of Yelez Malaga, and to take full vengeance on 
the Christians. 

Boabdil spurned his proposition, as the artifice of a 
hypocrite and a traitor. “How shall I trust a man,” 


EL ZAGAL’S DILEMMA. 


357 


said he, “ who has murdered my father and my kindred 
by treachery, and has repeatedly sought my own life, 
both by violence and stratagem ? *' 

El Zagal boiled with rage and vexation—but there was 
no time to be lost. He was beset by the alfaquis and the 
nobles of his court; the youthful cavaliers were hot for 
action, the common people loud in their complaints that 
the richest cities were abandoned to the mercy of the 
enemy. The old warrior was naturally fond of fighting; 
he saw also that to remain inactive would endanger both 
crown and kingdom, whereas a successful blow might 
secure his popularity in Granada. He had a much more 
powerful force than his nephew, having lately received 
reinforcements from Baza, Guadix, and Almeria; he 
could march with a large force, therefore, to the relief of 
Velez Malaga, and yet leave a strong garrison in the 
Alhambra. He took his measures accordingly, and de¬ 
parted suddenly in the night, at the head of one thousand 
horse and twenty thousand foot, and urged his way 
rapidly by the most unfrequented roads, along the chain 
of mountains extending from Granada to the heights 
above Velez Malaga. 

The Christians were alarmed one evening by the 
sudden blazing of great fires on the mountains about the 
fortress of Bentomiz. By the ruddy light, they beheld 
the flash of weapons and the array of troops, and they 
heard the distant sound of Moorish drums and trumpets. 
The fires of Bentomiz were answered by fires on the 


358 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


towers of Velez Malaga. The shouts of “El Zagal! El 
Zagal! ” echoed along the cliffs, and resounded from the 
city; and the Christians found that the old warrior king 
of Granada was on the mountain above their camp. 

The spirits of the Moors were suddenly raised to a 
pitch of the greatest exultation, while the Christians 
were astonished to see this storm of war ready to burst 
upon their heads. The count de Cabra, with his accus¬ 
tomed eagerness when there was a king in the field, 
would fain have scaled the heights, and attacked El Za¬ 
gal before he had time to form his camp; but Ferdinand, 
more cool and wary, restrained him. To attack the 
height would be to abandon the siege. He ordered 
every one, therefore, to keep vigilant watch at his post 
and stand ready to defend it to the utmost, but on no 
account to sally forth and attack the enemy. 

All night the signal-fires kept blazing along the moun¬ 
tains, rousing and animating the whole country. The 
morning sun rose over the lofty summit of Bentomiz on 
a scene of martial splendor. As its rays glanced down 
the mountain, they lighted up the white tents of the 
Christian cavaliers, cresting its lower prominences, their 
pennons and ensigns fluttering in the morning breeze. 
The sumptuous pavilions of the king, with the holy 
standard of the cross and the royal banners of Castile 
and Arragon, dominated the encampment. Beyond lay 
the city, its lofty castle and numerous towers glisten¬ 
ing with arms, while above all, and just on the profile of 


JEOPARDY OF THE CHRISTIANS. 


359 


the height, in the full blaze of the rising sun, were de¬ 
scried the tents of the Moor, his troops clustering about 
them, and his infidel banners floating against the sky. 
Columns of smoke rose where the night-fires had blazed, 
and the clash of the Moorish cymbal, the bray of trum¬ 
pet, and the neigh of steed, were faintly heard from the 
airy heights. So pure and transparent is the atmos¬ 
phere in this region, that every object can be distinctly 
seen at a great distance; and the Christians were able 
to behold the formidable hosts of foes gathering on the 
summits of the surrounding mountains. 

One of the first measures of the Moorish king was to 
detach a large force, under Reduan de Yanegas, alcayde 
of Granada, to fall upon the convoy of ordnance, which 
stretched, for a great distance, through the mountain de¬ 
files. Ferdinand had anticipated this attempt, and sent 
the commander of Leon, with a body of horse and foot, 
to reinforce the master of Alcantara. El Zagal, from his 
mountain height, beheld the detachment issue from the 
camp, and immediately recalled Reduan. The armies 
now remained quiet for a time, the Moor looking grimly 
down upon the Christian camp, like a tiger meditating a 
bound upon his prey. The Christians were in fearful 
jeopardy-—a hostile city below them, a powerful army 
above them, and on every side mountains filled with im¬ 
placable foes. 

After El Zagal had maturely considered the situation 
of the Christian camp, and informed himself of all the 


360 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


passes of the mountain, he conceived a plan to surprise 
the enemy, which he flattered himself would insure their 
ruin, and perhaps the capture of King Ferdinand. He 
wrote a letter to the alcayde of the city, commanding 
him, in the dead of the night, on a signal-fire being made 
from the mountain, to sally forth with all his troops, and 
fall furiously upon the Christian camp. The king would, 
at the same time, rush down with his army from the 
mountain, and assail it on the opposite side, thus over¬ 
whelming it at the hour of deep repose. This letter he 
dispatched by a renegado Christian, who knew all the 
secret roads of the country, and, if taken, could pass 
himself for a Christian who had escaped from cap¬ 
tivity. 

El Zagal, confident in his stratagem, looked down upon 
the Christians as his devoted victims. As the sun went 
down, and the long shadows of the mountains stretched 
across the vega, he pointed with exultation to the camp 
below, apparently unconscious of the impending danger. 
“Behold,” said he, “the unbelievers are delivered into 
our hands; their king and choicest chivalry will soon be 
at our mercy. Now is the time to show the courage of 
men, and, by one glorious victory, retrieve all that we 
have lost. Happy he who falls fighting in the cause of 
the prophet! he will at once be transported to the para¬ 
dise of the faithful, and surrounded by immortal liouris. 
Happy he who shall survive victorious! he will behold 
Granada!—an earthly paradise — once more delivered 


EL ZAGAL’S STRATAGEM. 


361 


from its foes, and restored to all its glory.” The words 
of El Zagal were received with acclamations by his / 
troops, who waited impatiently for the appointed hour, 
to pour down from their mountain-hold upon the Chris¬ 
tians. 


CHAPTER XLIX. 


RESULT OF THE STRATAGEM OF EL ZAGAL TO SURPRISE KING FERDINAND. 

ISABELLA and her court had remained 
rdova, in great anxiety for the result of 
►yal expedition. Every day brought tid¬ 
ings of the difficulties which attended the transportation 
of the ordnance and munitions, and of the critical state 
of the army. 

While in this state of anxious suspense, couriers ar¬ 
rived with all speed from the frontiers, bringing tidings 
of the sudden sally of El Zagal from Granada, to sur¬ 
prise the camp. All Cordova was in consternation. The 
destruction of the Andalusian chivalry, among the moun¬ 
tains of this very neighborhood, was called to mind: 
it was feared that similar ruin was about to burst 
forth, from rocks and precipices, upon Ferdinand and his 
army. 

Queen Isabella shared in the public alarm, but it 
served to rouse all the energies of her heroic mind. In¬ 
stead of uttering idle apprehensions, she sought only 
how to avert the danger. She called upon all the men 

of Andalusia, under the age of seventy, to arm and has- 

362 








REINFORCEMENTS FOR FERDINAND. 


363 


ten to the relief of their sovereign; and she prepared to 
set out with the first levies. The grand cardinal of 
Spain, old Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, in whom the 
piety of the saint and the wisdom of the counselor were 
mingled with the fire of the cavalier, offered high pay to 
all horsemen who would follow him to aid their king and 
the Christian cause; and, buckling on armor, prepared 
to lead them to the scene of danger. 

The summons of the queen roused the quick Andalu¬ 
sian spirit. Warriors who had long since given up fight¬ 
ing, and had sent their sons to battle, now seized the 
sword and lance, rusting on the wall, and marshaled 
forth their gray-headed domestics and their grandchil¬ 
dren for the field. The great dread was, that all aid 
would arrive too late; El Zagal and his host had passed 
like a storm through the mountains, and it was feared 
the tempest had already burst upon the Christian camp. 

In the meantime, the night had closed which had been 
appointed by El Zagal for the execution of his plan. He 
had watched the last light of day expire, and all the 
Spanish camp remained tranquil. As the hours wore 
away, the camp-fires were gradually extinguished. No 
drum nor trumpet sounded from below. Nothing was 
heard, but now and then the dull, heavy tread of troops, 
or the echoing tramp of horses—the usual patrols of the 
camp, and the changes of the guards. El Zagal restrain¬ 
ed his own impatience, and that of his troops, until the 
night should be advanced, and the camp sunk in that 


364 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


heavy sleep from which men are with difficulty awakened; 
and, when awakened, prone to be bewildered and dis¬ 
mayed. 

At length the appointed hour arrived. By order of 
the Moorish king, a bright flame sprung up from the 
height of Bentomiz; but El Zagal looked in vain for the 
responding light from the city. His impatience would 
brook no longer delay; he ordered the advance of the 
army to descend the mountain defile and attack the 
camp. The defile was narrow, and overhung by rocks; 
as the troops proceeded, they came suddenly, in a sha¬ 
dowy hollow, upon a dark mass of warriors, who, with a 
loud shout, rushed to assail them. Surprised and dis¬ 
concerted, they retreated in confusion to the height. 
When El Zagal heard of a Christian force in the defile, 
he doubted some counter-plan of the enemy, and gave 
orders to light the mountain fires. On a signal given, 
bright flames sprang up on every height, from pyres of 
wood, prepared for the purpose : cliff blazed out after 
j? cliff, until the whole atmosphere was in a glow of furnace 
light. The ruddy glare lit up the glens and passes, and 
fell strongly upon the Christian camp, revealing all its 
tents, and every post and bulwark. Wherever El Zagal 
turned his eyes, he beheld the light of his fires flashed 
back from cuirass, and helm, and sparkling lance; he 
beheld a grove of spears planted in every pass, every 
assailable point bristling with arms, and squadrons of 
horse and foot in battle array, awaiting his attack. 


THE STB AT AG EM FOILED. 


365 


In fact, his letter to the alcayde of Yelez Malaga had 
been intercepted by the vigilant Ferdinand, the renegado 
messenger hanged, and secret measures taken, after 
nightfall, to give the Moors a warm reception. El Zagal 
saw that his plan of surprise was discovered and foiled; 
furious with disappointment, he ordered his troops for¬ 
ward to the attack. They rushed down the defile, but 
were again encountered by the mass of Christian war¬ 
riors, being the advance guard of the army, commanded 
by Don Hurtado de Mendoza, brother of the grand car¬ 
dinal. The Moors were again repulsed, and retreated up 
the height. Don Hurtado would have followed them, 
but the ascent was steep and rugged, and easily defend¬ 
ed. A sharp action was kept up through the night, with 
cross-bows, darts, and arquebuses. The cliffs echoed 
with deafening uproar, while the fires blazing upon the 
mountains threw a lurid and uncertain light upon the 
scene. 

When the day dawned, and the Moors saw that there 
was no cooperation from the city, they slackened in their 
ardor: they beheld also every pass of the mountain filled 
with Christian troops, and began to apprehend an assault 
in return. Just then king Ferdinand sent the marques 
of Cadiz, with horse and foot, to seize upon a height 
occupied by a battalion of the enemy. The marques 
assailed the Moors with his usual intrepidity, and soon 
put them to flight. The others, who were above, seeing 
their comrades fly, threw down their arms, and retreated. 


366 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA . 


One of those unaccountable panics, which now and then 
seize upon great bodies of people, and to which the light- 
spirited Moors were prone, now spread throughout the 
camp. They were terrified, they knew not why, nor at 
what, and throwing away swords, lances, breast-plates, 
cross-bows, everything that could impede their motions, 
scattered themselves wildly in every direction. They 
fled without pursuers—from the glimpse of each other’s 
arms, from the sound of each other’s footsteps. Reduan 
de Yanegas, the brave alcayde of Granada, alone suc¬ 
ceeded in collecting a body of the fugitives ; he made a 
circuit with them through the passes of the mountain, 
and forcing his way across a weak part of the Christian 
lines, galloped towards Yelez Malaga. The rest of the 
Moorish host was completely scattered. In vain did El 
Zagal and his knights attempt to rally them ; they were 
left almost alone, and had to consult their own security 
by flight. 

The marques of Cadiz, finding no opposition, ascended 
from height to height, cautiously reconnoitering, and 
fearful of some stratagem or ambush. All, however, was 
quiet. He reached with his men the place which the 
Moorish army had occupied: the heights were aban¬ 
doned, and strewed with cuirasses, scimetars, cross¬ 
bows, and other weapons. His force was too small to 
pursue the enemy, but returned to the royal camp laden 
with spoils. 

Ferdinand at first could not credit so signal and mirac* 



TRIUMPH OF THE CHRISTIANS. 


367 


ulous a defeat, but suspected some lurking stratagem. 
He ordered, therefore, that a strict watch should be 
maintained throughout the camp, and every one be ready 
lor instant action. The following night, a thousand cav¬ 
aliers and hidalgos kept guard about the royal tent, as 
they had done for several preceding nights ; nor did the 
king relax this vigilance, until he received certain intel¬ 
ligence that the enemy was completely scattered, and El 
Zagal flying in confusion. 

The tidings of this rout, and of the safety of the Chris¬ 
tian army, arrived at Cordova just as reinforcements 
were on the point of setting out. The anxiety and alarm 
of the queen and the public, were turned to transports of 
joy and gratitude. The forces were disbanded, solemn 
processions were made, and Te Deums chanted in the 
churches, for so signal a victory. 


CHAPTER L. 


IOW THE PEOPLE OF GRANADA REWARDED THE VALOR OF EL ZAGAL. 


daring spirit of Muley Abdallali El Zagal, in 
lying forth to defend his territories, while 
left an armed rival in his capital, struck the 
people of Granada with admiration. They recalled his 
former exploits, and again anticipated some hardy 
achievement from his valor. Couriers from the army 
reported its formidable position on the height of Bento^ 
miz. For a time, there was a pause in the bloody com¬ 
motions of the city ; all attention was turned to the blow 
about to be struck at the Christian camp. The same 
considerations which diffused anxiety and terror through 
Cordova, swelled every bosom with exulting confidence 
in Granada. The Moors expected to hear of another 
massacre, like that in the mountains of Malaga. “ El 
Zagal has again entrapped the enemy! ” was the cry. 
“ The power of the unbelievers is about to be struck to 
the heart. We shall soon see the Christian king led 
captive to the capital.” Thus was the name of El Zagal 
on every tongue. He was extolled as the savior of the 
country; the only one worthy of wearing the Moorish 

308 









EL ZAGAL’S REWARD. 


369 


crown. Boabdil was reviled as basely remaining passive 
while his country was invaded; and, so violent became 
the clamor of the populace, that his adherents trembled 
for his safety. 

While the people of Granada were impatiently looking 
out for tidings of the anticipated victory, scattered horse¬ 
men came spurring across the vega. They were fugitives 
from the Moorish army, and brought the first incoherent 
account of its defeat. Every one who attempted to tell 
the tale of this unaccountable panic and dispersion, was 
as if bewildered by the broken recollection of some 
frightful dream. He knew not how or why it came to 
pass. He talked of a battle in the night, among rocks 
and precipices, by the glare of bale-fires; of multitudes 
of armed foes in every pass, seen by gleams and flashes; 
of the sudden horror that seized upon the army at day¬ 
break ; its headlong flight, and total dispersion. Hour 
after hour, the arrival of other fugitives confirmed the 
story of ruin and disgrace. 

In proportion to their recent vaunting, was the humili¬ 
ation that now fell upon the people of Granada. There 
was a universal burst, not of grief, but of indignation. 
They confounded the leader with the army—the de¬ 
serted, with those who had abandoned him; and El Za- 
gal, from being their idol, became suddenly the object of 
their execration. He had sacrificed the army; he had 
disgraced the nation; he had betrayed the country. He 
was a dastard, a traitor; he was unworthy to reign. 

24 


370 


CONQUEST OF OB AN AD A. 


On a sudden, one among the multitude shouted, “Long 
live Boabdil el Chico ! ” the cry was echoed on all sides, 
and every one shouted, “ Long live Boabdil el Chico! 
long live the legitimate king of Granada! and death to 
all usurpers! ” In the excitement of the moment, they 
thronged to the Albaycin; and those who had lately be- 
sieged Boabdil with arms, now surrounded his palace 
with acclamations. The keys of the city, and of all the 
fortresses, were laid at his feet; he was borne in state to 
the Alhambra, and once more seated, with all due cere¬ 
mony, on the throne of his ancestors. 

Boabdil had by this time become so accustomed to be 
crowned and uncrowned by the multitude, that he put no 
great faith in the duration of their loyalty. He knew 
that he was surrounded by hollow hearts, and that most 
of the courtiers of the Alhambra were secretly devoted to 
his uncle. He ascended the throne as tne rightful sove¬ 
reign, who had been dispossessed of it by usurpation; 
and he ordered the heads of four of the principal nobles 
to be struck off, who had been most zealous in support of 
the usurper. Executions of the kind were matters of 
course on any change in Moorish government; and Boab¬ 
dil was lauded for his moderation and humanity, in be¬ 
ing content with so small a sacrifice. The factions were 
awed into obedience; the populace, delighted with any 
change, extolled Boabdil to the skies; and the name of 
Muley Abdallah El Zagal was for a time a by-word of 
scorn and opprobrium throughout the city. 


HE BETIMES TO GUABIX. 


371 


Never was any commander more astonished and con¬ 
founded by a sudden reverse of fortune, than El Zagal. 
The evening had seen him with a powerful army at his 
command, his enemy within his grasp, and victory about 
to cover him with glory, and to consolidate his power: 
the morning beheld him a fugitive among the mountains, 
his army, his prosperity, his power, all dispelled, he 
knew not how—gone like a dream of the night. In vain 
had he tried to stem the headlong flight of the army. 
He saw his squadrons breaking and dispersing among the 
cliffs of the mountains, until, of all his host, only a hand¬ 
ful of cavaliers remained faithful. With these he made 
a gloomy retreat towards Granada, but with a heart full 
of foreboding. As he drew near to the city, he paused 
on the banks of the Xenil, and sent forth scouts to col¬ 
lect intelligence. They returned with dejected counte¬ 
nances : “ The gates of Granada,” said they, “ are closed 
against you. The banner of Boabdil floats on the tower 
of the Alhambra.” 

El Zagal turned his steed, and departed in silence. 
He retreated to the town of Almunecar, and thence to 
Almeria, which places still remained faithful to him. 
Eestless and uneasy at being so distant from the capital, 
he again changed his abode, and repaired to the city of 
Guadix, within a few leagues of Granada. Here he 
remained, endeavoring to rally his forces, and preparing 
to avail himself of any sudden change in the fluctuating 
politics of the metropolis. 



CHAPTER IX 


SURRENDER OF YELEZ MALAGA AND OTHER PLACES. 

people of Yelez Malaga had beheld the 
ip of Muley Abdallah, covering the sum- 
of Bentomiz, and glittering in the last rays 
of the setting sun. During the night they had been 
alarmed and perplexed by signal-fires on the mountain, 
and by the sound of distant battle. When the morning 
broke, the Moorish army had vanished as if by enchant¬ 
ment. While the inhabitants were lost in wonder and 
conjecture, a body of cavalry, the fragment of the army 
saved by Reduan de Yanegas, the brave alcayde of 
Granada, came galloping to the gates. The tidings of 
the strange discomfiture of the host filled the city with 
consternation; but Reduan exhorted the people to con¬ 
tinue their resistance. He was devoted to El Zagal, and 
confident in his skill and prowess; and felt assured that 
he would soon collect his scattered forces and return with 
fresh troops from Granada. The people were comforted 
by the words, and encouraged by the presence of Reduan; 
and they had still a lingering hope that the heavy 
artillery of the Christians might be locked up in the 

373 








SURRENDER OF MOORISH FORTRESSES. 373 


impassable defiles of the mountains. This hope was soon 
at an end. The very next day, they beheld long laborious 
lines of ordnance slowly moving into the Spanish camp, 
lombards, ribadoquines, catapults, and cars laden with 
munitions,—while the escort, under the brave master of 
Alcantara, wheeled in great battalions into the camp, to 
augment the force of the besiegers. 

The intelligence that Granada had shut its gates 
against El Zagal, and that no reinforcements were to be 
expected, completed the despair of the inhabitants; even 
Reduan himself lost confidence, and advised capitula¬ 
tion. 

Ferdinand granted favorable conditions, for he wa* 
eager to proceed against Malaga. The inhabitants were 
permitted to depart with their effects, except their arms, 
and to reside, if they chose it, in Spain, in any place 
distant from the sea. One hundred and twenty Chris¬ 
tians, of both sexes, were rescued from captivity by the 
surrender, and were sent to Cordova, where they were 
received with great tenderness by the queen and her 
daughter the Infanta Isabella, in the famous cathedral, in 
the midst of public rejoicings for the victory. 

The capture of Velez Malaga was followed by the sur¬ 
render of Bentomiz, Comares, and all the towns and fort¬ 
resses of the Axarquia, which were strongly garrisoned, 
and discreet and valiant cavaliers appointed as their al- 
caydes. The inhabitants of nearly forty towns of the 
Alpuxarra mountains, also, sent deputations to the Cas- 


374 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


tilian sovereigns, taking the oath of allegiance as Mude- 
hares, or Moslem vassals. 

About the same time came letters from Boabdil el 
Chico, announcing to the sovereigns the revolution of 
Granada in his favor. He solicited kindness and protec¬ 
tion for the inhabitants who had returned to their alle¬ 
giance, and for those of all other places which should 
renounce adherence to his uncle. By this means (he 
observed) the whole kingdom of Granada would soon be 
induced to acknowledge his sway, and would be held by 
him in faithful vassalage to the Castilian crown. 

The Catholic sovereigns complied with his request. 
Protection was immediately extended to the inhabitants 
of Granada, permitting them to cultivate their fields in 
peace, and to trade with the Christian territories in all 
articles excepting arms; being provided with letters of 
surety, from some Christian captain or alcayde. The 
same favor was promised to all other places which, within 
six months, should renounce El Zagal and come under 
allegiance to the younger king. Should they not do so 
within that time, the sovereigns threatened to make war 
upon them, and conquer them for themselves. This 
measure had a great effect, in inducing many to return to 
the standard of Boabdil. 

Having made every necessary arrangement for the 
government and security of the newly conquered terri¬ 
tory, Ferdinand turned his attention to the great object 
of his campaign, the reduction of Malaga. 


CHAPTER LII. 


OP THE CITY OF MALAGA, AND ITS INHABITANTS.—MISSION OF HERNANDO 
DEL PULGAR. 

IE city of Malaga lies in the lap of a fertile 
valley, surrounded by mountains, excepting on 
the part which lies open to the sea. As it was 
one of the most important, so it was one of the strongest, 
cities of the Moorish kingdom. It was fortified by walls 
of prodigious strength, studded with a great number of 
huge towers. On the land side, it was protected by a 
natural barrier of mountains; and on the other, the 
waves of the Mediterranean beat against the foundations 
of its massive bulwarks. 

At one end of the city, near the sea, on a high mound, 
stood the Alcazaba or citadel, a fortress of great strength. 
Immediately above this, rose a steep and rocky mount, 
on the top of which, in old times, had been a pharos or 
light-house, from which the height derived its name of 
Gibralfaro.* It was at present crowned by an immense 
castle, which, from its lofty and cragged situation, its 



A corruption of Oibel-faro, the hill of the light-house. 

375 







376 


CONQUEST OF OR AN AD A. 


vast walls and mighty towers, was deemed impregnable. 
It communicated with the Alcazaba by a covered way, 
six paces broad, leading down between two walls, along 
the profile or ridge of the rock. The castle of Gibral- 
faro commanded both citadel and city, and was capable, 
if both were taken, of maintaining a siege. Two large 
suburbs adjoined the city: in the one towards the sea, 
were the dwelling-houses of the most opulent inhabit¬ 
ants, adorned with hanging gardens; the other, on the 
land side, was thickly peopled, and surrounded by strong 
walls and towers. 

Malaga possessed a brave and numerous garrison, and 
the common people were active, hardy, and resolute; but 
the city was rich and commercial, and under the habi¬ 
tual control of numerous opulent merchants, who dread¬ 
ed the ruinous consequences of a siege. They were little 
zealous for the warlike renown of their city, and longed 
rather to participate in the enviable security of property, 
and the lucrative privileges of safe traffic with the Chris¬ 
tian territories, granted to all places which declared for 
Boabdil. At the head of these gainful citizens was Ali 
Dordux, a mighty merchant of uncounted wealth, con¬ 
nected, it is said, with the royal family of Granada, 
whose ships traded to every part of the Levant, and 
whose word was as a law in Malaga. Ali Dordux assem¬ 
bled the most opulent and important of his commercial 
brethren, and they repaired in a body to the Alcazaba, 
where they were received by the alcayde, Aben Comixa, 


EAMET EL ZEGBI. 


377 


with that deference generally shown to men of their 
great local dignity and power of purse. Ali Dordux was 
ample and stately in his form, and fluent and emphatic 
in his discourse; his eloquence had an effect, therefore, 
upon the alcayde, as he represented the hopelessness of 
a defense of Malaga, the misery that must attend a siege, 
and the ruin that must follow a capture by force of arms. 
On the other hand, he set forth the grace that might 
be obtained from the Castilian sovereigns, by an early 
and voluntary acknowledgement of Boabdil as king; the 
peaceful possession of their property, and the profitable 
commerce with the Christian ports, that would be al¬ 
lowed them. He was seconded by his weighty and im¬ 
portant coadjutors; and the alcayde, accustomed to re¬ 
gard them' as the arbiters of the affairs of the place, 
yielded to their united counsels. He departed, therefore, 
with all speed, to the Christian camp, empowered to ar¬ 
range a capitulation with the Castilian monarch; and in 
the meantime, his brother remained in command of the 
Alcazaba. 

There was at this time, as alcayde, in the old crag- 
built castle of Gibralfaro, a warlike and fiery Moor, an 
implacable enemy of the Christians. This was no other 
than Hamet Zeli, surnamed El Zegri, the once formi¬ 
dable alcayde of Eonda, and the terror of its mountains. 
He had never forgiven the capture of his favorite fort¬ 
ress, and panted for vengeance on the Christians. Not¬ 
withstanding his reverses, he had retained the favor of 


378 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


El Zagal, who knew how to appreciate a bold warrior of 
the kind, and had placed him in command of this impor¬ 
tant fortress of Gibralfaro. 

Hamet el Zegri had gathered ronnd him the remnant 
of his band of Gomeres, with others of the same tribe, 
recently arrived from Morocco. These fierce warriors 
were nestled, like so many war-hawks, about their lofty 
cliff. They looked down with martial contempt upon the 
commercial city of Malaga, which they were placed to 
protect; or rather, they esteemed it only for its military 
importance, and its capability of defense. They held no 
communion with its trading, gainful inhabitants, and even 
considered the garrison of the Alcazaba their inferiors. 
War was their pursuit and passion ; they rejoiced in its 
turbulent and perilous scenes; and, confident in the 
strength of the city, and, above all, of their castle, they 
set at defiance the menace of Christian invasion. There 
were among them, also, many apostate Moors, who had 
once embraced Christianity, but had since recanted, and 
fled from the vengeance of the Inquisition.* These were 
desperadoes, who had no mercy to expect, should they 
again fall into the hands of the enemy. 

Such were the fierce elements of the garrison of Gi¬ 
bralfaro ; and its rage may easily be conceived, at hearing 
that Malaga was to be given up without a blow; that 
they were to sink into Christian vassals, under the inter- 


* Zurita, lib. 30, cap. 71. 


ACTS OF HAMET. 


379 


mediate sway of Boabdil el Chico ; and that the alcayde 
of the Alcazaba had departed, to arrange the terms of 
capitulation. 

Hamet determined to avert, by desperate means, the 
threatened degradation. He knew that there was a large 
party in the city faithful to El Zagal, being composed of 
warlike men, who had taken refuge from the various 
mountain towns which had been captured ; their feelings 
were desperate as their fortunes, and, like Hamet, they 
panted for revenge upon the Christians. With these he 
had a secret conference, and received assurance of their 
adherence to him in any measures of defense. As to the 
counsel of the peaceful inhabitants, he considered it un¬ 
worthy the consideration of a soldier ; and he spurned at 
the interference of the wealthy merchant Ali Dordux, in 
matters of warfare. 

“Still,** said Hamet el Zegri, “let us proceed regu¬ 
larly.” So he descended with his Gomeres to the citadel, 
entered it suddenly, put to death the brother of the 
alcayde, and such of the garrison as made any demur, 
and then summoned the principal inhabitants of Malaga, 
to deliberate on measures for the welfare of the city.* 
The wealthy merchants again mounted to the citadel, 
excepting Ali Dordux, who refused to obey the summons. 
They entered with hearts filled with awe, for they found 
Hamet surrounded by his grim African guard, and all 


* Cura de los Palacios , c. 82. 


380 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


the stern array of military power, and they beheld the 
bloody traces of the recent massacre. 

Hamet rolled a dark and searching eye upon the 
assembly. “Who,” said he, “is loyal and devoted to 
Muley Abdallah el Zagal ? ” Every one present asserted 
his loyalty. “Good!” said Hamet; “and who is ready to 
prove his devotion to his sovereign, by defending this his 
important city to the last extremity ? ” Every one pres¬ 
ent declared his readiness. “ Enough! ” observed Hamet; 
“ the alcayde Aben Comixa has proved himself a traitor 
to his sovereign, and to you all; for he has conspired to 
deliver the place to the Christians. It behooves you 
to choose some other commander, capable of defending 
your city against the approaching enemy.” The assem¬ 
bly declared unanimously, that no one was so worthy of 
the command as himself. So Hamet was appointed 
alcayde of Malaga, and immediately proceeded to man 
the forts and towers with his partisans and to make 
every preparation for a desperate resistance. 

Intelligence of these occurrences put an end to the 
negotiations between king Ferdinand and the superseded 
alcayde Aben Comixa, and it was supposed there was no 
alternative but to lay siege to the place. The marques 
of Cadiz, however, found at Yelez a Moorish cavalier of 
some note, a native of Malaga, who offered to tamper 
with Hamet el Zegri for the surrender of the city, or at 
least of the castle of Gibralfaro. The marques communi¬ 
cated this to the king; “ I put this business, and the key 


BRIBERY PROPOSED. 


381 


of my treasury, into your hands,” said Ferdinand; “act, 
stipulate, and disburse, in my name, as you think proper.” 

The marques armed the Moor with his own lance, 
cuirass, and target, and mounted him on one of his own 
horses. He equipped in similar style, also, another 
Moor, his companion and relative. They bore secret 
letters to Hamet from the marques, offering him the town 
of Coin in perpetual inheritance, and four thousand 
doblas in gold, if he would deliver up Gibralfaro; to¬ 
gether with a farm and two thousand doblas for his 
lieutenant Ibrahim Zenete, and large sums to be dis¬ 
tributed among his officers and soldiers; and he offered 
unlimited rewards for the surrender of the city. 

Hamet had a warrior’s admiration of the marques of 
Cadiz, and received his messengers with courtesy in his 
fortress of Gibralfaro. He even listened to their propo¬ 
sitions with patience, and dismissed them in safety, 
though with an absolute refusal. The marques thought 
his reply was not so peremptory as to discourage another 
effort. The emissaries were dispatched, therefore, a sec¬ 
ond time, with further propositions. They approached 
Malaga in the night, but found the guards doubled, pa¬ 
trols abroad, and the whole place on the alert. They 
were discovered, pursued, and only saved themselves by 
the fleetness of their steeds, and their knowledge of the 
passes of the mountains.* 


* Cura de los Palacios, MS., c. 82. 


382 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


Finding all attempts to tamper with the faith of Hamet 
utterly futile, king Ferdinand publicly summoned the 
city to surrender, offering the most favorable terms in 
case of immediate compliance ; but threatening captivity 
to all the inhabitants, in case of resistance. 

It required a man of nerve to undertake the delivery 
of such a summons in the present heated and turbulent 
state of the Moorish community. Such a one stepped 
forward in the person of a cavalier of the royal guards, 
Hernan Perez del Pulgar by name, a youth of noble de¬ 
scent, who had already signalized himself by his roman¬ 
tic valor and daring enterprise. Furnished with official 
papers for Hamet el Zegri and a private letter from the 
king to Ali Dordux, he entered the gates of Malaga un¬ 
der the protection of a flag, and boldly delivered his 
summons in presence of the principal inhabitants. The 
language of the summons, or the tone in which it was 
delivered, exasperated the fiery spirit of the Moors, and 
it required all the energy of Hamet and the influence of 
several of the alfaquis, to prevent an outrage to the per¬ 
son of the ambassador. The reply of Hamet was haughty 
and decided. “The city of Malaga has been confided 
to me,” said he, “ not to be surrendered, but defended, 
and the king shall witness how I acquit myself of my 
charge.”* 

His mission at an end, Hernan del Pulgar rode slowly 


Pulgar, pt. 3, cap. 74. 


TEE ANSWER OF EL ZEGRI. 


383 


and deliberately through the city, utterly regardless of 
the scowls and menaces, and scarcely restrained turbu¬ 
lence of the multitude, and bore to Ferdinand at Yelez 
the haughty answer of the Moor; but at the same time 
gave him a formidable account of the force of the gar¬ 
rison, the strength of the fortifications, and the deter¬ 
mined spirit of the commander and his men. The king 
immediately sent orders to have the heavy artillery for¬ 
warded from Antiquera; and, on the 7th of May, marched 
with his army towards Malaga. 


CHAPTEK LIII. 


ADVANCE OF KING FERDINAND AGAINST MALAGA. 


HE army of Ferdinand advanced in lengthened 
line, glittering along the foot of the mountains 
which border the Mediterranean; while a fleet 
of vessels, freighted with heavy artillery and warlike mu¬ 
nitions, kept pace with it at a short distance from the 
land, covering the sea with a thousand gleaming sails. 
When Hamet el Zegri saw this force approaching, he set 
fire to the houses of the suburbs which adjoined the 
walls, and sent forth three battalions to encounter the 
advance guard of the enemy. 

The Christian army drew near to the city, at that end 
where the castle and rocky height of Gibralfaro defend 
the seaboard. Immediately opposite, at about two bow¬ 
shots’ distance, stood the castle ; and between it and the 
high chain of mountains, was a steep and rocky hill, at 
present called the hill of St. Christobal, commanding a 
pass through which the Christians must march to pene¬ 
trate to the vega and surround the city. Hamet ordered 

the three battalions to take their stations, one on this 

884 








ASSAULT ON ST. GHRISTOBAL. 


385 


hill, another in the pass near the castle, and a third on 
the side of the mountain near the sea. 

A body of Spanish foot-soldiers, of the advance guard, 
sturdy mountaineers of Galicia, sprang forward to climb 
the side of the height next the sea; at the same time, a 
number of cavaliers and hidalgos of the royal house¬ 
hold attacked the Moors who guarded the pass below. 
The Moors defended their posts with obstinate valor. 
The Galicians were repeatedly overpowered and driven 
down the hill, but as often rallied, and being reinforced 
by the hidalgos and cavaliers, returned to the assault. 
This obstinate struggle lasted for six hours: the strife 
w r as of a deadly kind, not merely wdtli cross-bows and 
arquebuses, but hand to hand, with swords and daggers ; 
no quarter was claimed or given, on either side—they 
fought not to make captives, but to slay. It was but the 
advance of the Christian army that was engaged; so 
narrow was the pass along the coast, that the army could 
proceed only in file : horse and foot, and beasts of bur¬ 
den, were crowded one upon another, impeding each 
other, and blocking up the narrow and rugged defile. 
The soldiers heard the uproar of the battle, the sound of 
trumpets, and the war-cries of the Moors—but tried in 
vain to press forward to the assistance of their com¬ 
panions. 

At length a body of foot-soldiers of the Holy Brother¬ 
hood climbed, with great difficulty, the steep side of the 
mountain which overhung the pass, and advanced with 
25 


386 


CONQUEST OF OBAN AD A. 


seven banners displayed. The Moors, seeing this force 
above them, abandoned the pass in despair. The battle 
was still raging on the height; the Galicians, though 
supported by Castilian troops under Don Hurtado de 
Mendoza and Garcilasso de la Vega, were severely 
pressed and roughly handled by the Moors ; at length a 
brave standard-bearer, Luys Mazeda by name, threw 
himself into the midst of the enemy, and planted his 
banner on the summit. The Galicians and Castilians, 
stimulated by this noble self-devotion, followed him, 
fighting desperately, and the Moors were at length 
driven to their castle of Gibralfaro.* 

This important height being taken, the pass lay open 
to the army; but by this time evening was advancing, 
and the host was too weary and exhausted to seek proper 
situations for the encampment. The king, attended by 
several grandees and cavaliers, went the rounds at night, 
stationing outposts towards the city, and guards and pa¬ 
trols to give the alarm on the least movement of the en¬ 
emy. All night the Christians lay upon their arms, lest 
there should be some attempt to sally forth and attack 
them. 

When the morning dawned, the king gazed with ad¬ 
miration at this city, which he hoped soon to add to his 
dominions. It was surrounded on one side by vineyards, 
gardens, and orchards, which covered the hills with verd- 


* Pulgar, Cronica. 


INVESTMENT OF MALAGA. 


387 


Tire ; on the other side, its walls were bathed by the 
smooth and tranquil sea. Its vast and lofty towers and 
prodigious castles, hoary with age, yet unimpaired in 
strength, showed the labors of magnanimous men in 
former times to protect their favorite abode. Hanging 
gardens, groves of oranges, citrons, and pomegranates, 
with the cedars and stately palms, were mingled with the 
stern battlements and towers—bespeaking the opulence 
and luxury that reigned within. 

In the meantime, the Christian army poured through 
the pass, and throwing out its columns and extending its 
lines, took possession of every vantage ground around 
the city. King Ferdinand surveyed the ground, and ap¬ 
pointed the stations of the different commanders. 

The important mount of St. Christobal, which had cost 
so violent a struggle, and faced the powerful fortress of 
Gibralfaro, was given in charge to Koderigo Ponce de 
Leon, marques of Cadiz, who, in all sieges, claimed the 
post of danger. He had several noble cavaliers with 
their retainers in his encampment, which consisted of 
fifteen hundred horse and fourteen thousand foot; and 
extended from the summit of the mount to the margin of 
the sea, completely blocking up the approach to the city 
on that side. From this post, a line of encampments 
extended quite round the city to the seaboard, fortified 
by bulwarks and deep ditches; while a fleet of armed 
ships and galleys stretched before the harbor; so that 
the place was completely invested, by sea and land. 


388 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


The various parts of the valley now resounded with the 
din of preparation, and were filled with artificers prepar¬ 
ing warlike engines and munitions : armorers and smiths, 
with glowing forges and deafening hammers; carpenters 
and engineers, constructing machines wherewith to assail 
the walls; stonecutters, shaping stone balls for the ord¬ 
nance ; and burners of charcoal, preparing fuel for the 
furnaces and forges. 

"When the encampment was formed, the heavy ord¬ 
nance was landed from the ships, and mounted in va¬ 
rious parts of the camp. Five huge lombards were 
placed on the mount commanded by the marques of 
Cadiz, so as to bear upon the castle of Gibralfaro. 

The Moors made strenuous efforts to impede these 
preparations. They kept up a heavy fire from their 
ordnance, upon the men employed in digging trenches 
or constructing batteries, so that the latter had to work 
principally in the night. The royal tents had been 
stationed conspicuously, and within reach of the Moor¬ 
ish batteries ; but were so warmly assailed, that they 
had to be removed behind a hill. 

When the works were completed, the Christian bat¬ 
teries opened in return, and kept up a tremendous can¬ 
nonade ; while the fleet, approaching the land, assailed 
the city vigorously on the opposite side. 

“ It was a glorious and delectable sight,” observes 
Fray Antonio Agapida, “ to behold this infidel city thus 
surrounded by sea and land, by a mighty Christian 


EXULTING DESCRIPTION OF AGAPIDA. 


389 


force. Every mound in its circuit was, as it were, a 
little city of tents, bearing the standard of some re¬ 
nowned Catholic warrior. Beside the warlike ships and 
galleys which lay before the place, the sea was covered 
with innumerable sails, passing and repassing, appear¬ 
ing and disappearing, being engaged in bringing sup¬ 
plies for the subsistence of the army. It seemed a vast 
spectacle contrived to recreate the eye, did not the vol¬ 
leying bursts of flame and smoke from the ships, which 
seemed to lie asleep on the quiet sea, and the thunder 
of ordnance from camp and city, from tower and battle¬ 
ment, tell the deadly warfare that was waging. 

“ At night, the scene was far more direful than in the 
day. The cheerful light of the sun was gone ; there was 
nothing but the flashes of artillery, or the baleful gleams 
of combustibles thrown into the city, and the conflagra¬ 
tion of the houses. The fire kept up from the Christian 
batteries was incessant; there were seven great lom¬ 
bards in particular, called The Seven Sisters of Ximenes, 
which did tremendous execution. The Moorish ord¬ 
nance replied in thunder from the walls : Gibralfaro was 
wrapped in volumes of smoke, rolling about its base; 
and Hamet and his Gomeres looked out with triumph 
upon the tempest of war they had awaked. Truly they 
were so many demons incarnate,” concludes the pious 
Eray Antonio Agapida, “ who were permitted by Heaven 
to enter into and possess this infidel city, for its perdi¬ 
tion.” 


CHAPTER LIY. 


SIEGE OP MALAGA. 


HE attack on Malaga, by sea and land, was kept 
up for several days with tremendous violence, 
but without producing any great impression, 
so strong were the ancient bulwarks of the city. The 
count de Cifuentes was the first to signalize himself by 
any noted achievement. A main tower, protecting what 
is at present called the suburb of Santa Ana, had been 
shattered by the ordnance, and the battlements demol¬ 
ished, so as to yield no shelter to its defenders. Seeing 
this, the count assembled a gallant band of cavaliers of 
the royal household, and advanced to take it by storm. 
They applied scaling ladders, and mounted, sword in 
hand. The Moors, having no longer battlements to pro¬ 
tect them, descended to a lower floor, and made furi¬ 
ous resistance from the windows and loopholes. They 
poured down boiling pitch and rosin, and hurled stones, 
and darts, and arrows, on the assailants. Many of the 
Christians were slain, their ladders were destroyed by 
flaming combustibles, and the count was obliged to re¬ 
treat from before the tower. On the following day he 

390 





SIEGE OF MALAGA. 


391 


renewed the attack with superior force, and, after a 
severe combat, succeeded in planting his victorious ban¬ 
ner on the tower. 

The Moors now assailed the tower in their turn. They 
undermined the part towards the city, placed props of 
wood under the foundation, and, setting fire to them, 
drew off to a distance. In a little while the props gave 
way, the foundation sunk, and the tower was rent; part 
of its wall fell, with a tremendous noise; many of the 
Christians were thrown out headlong, and the rest were 
laid open to the missiles of the enemy. 

By this time, however, a breach had been made in the 
wall of the suburb adjoining the tower, and troops 
poured in to the assistance of their comrades. A com 
tinued battle was kept up for two days and a night, by 
reinforcements from camp and city. The parties fought 
backwards and forwards through the breach of the wall, 
and in the narrow and winding streets adjacent, with al¬ 
ternate success; and the vicinity of the tower was strewn 
with the dead and wounded. At length the Moors grad¬ 
ually gave way, disputing every inch of ground, until 
they were driven into the city; and the Christians re¬ 
mained masters of the greater part of the suburb. 

This partial success, though gained with great toil and 
bloodshed, gave temporary animation to the Christians ; 
they soon found, however, that the attack on the main 
works of the city was a much more arduous task. The 
garrison contained veterans who had served in many of 



392 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


the towns captured by the Christians. They were no 
longer confounded and dismayed by the battering ord¬ 
nance and other strange engines of foreign invention, and 
had become expert in parrying their effects, in repairing 
breaches, and erecting counter-works. 

The Christians, accustomed of late to speedy con¬ 
quests of Moorish fortresses, become impatient of the 
slow progress of the siege. Many were apprehensive of 
a scarcity of provisions, from'the difficulty of subsisting 
so numerous a host in the heart of the enemy’s country, 
where it was necessary to transport supplies across 
rugged and hostile mountains, or subjected to the un¬ 
certainties of the sea. Many also were alarmed at a 
pestilence which broke out in the neighboring villages; 
and some were so overcome by these apprehensions, as 
to abandon the camp and return to their homes. 

Several of the loose and worthless hangers-on that 
infest all great armies, hearing these murmurs, thought 
that the siege would soon be raised, and deserted to 
the enemy, hoping to make their fortunes. They gave 
exaggerated accounts of the alarms and discontents of 
the army, and represented the troops as daily returning 
home in bands. Above all they declared that the gun¬ 
powder was nearly exhausted, so that the artillery would 
soon be useless. They assured the Moors, therefore, 
that if they persisted a little longer in their defense, 
the king would be obliged to draw off his forces and 
abandon the siege. 


DESERTERS TO THE MOORS. 


393 


The reports of these renegadoes gave fresh courage 
to the garrison; they made vigorous sallies upon the 
camp, harassing it by night and day, and obliging every 
part to be guarded with the most painful vigilance. 
They fortified the weak parts of their walls with ditches 
and palisadoes, and gave every manifestation of a deter¬ 
mined and unyielding spirit. 

Ferdinand soon received intelligence of the reports 
which had been carried to the Moors; he understood 
that they had been informed, likewise, that the queen 
was alarmed for the safety of the camp, and had written 
repeatedly urging him to abandon the siege. As the 
best means of disproving all these falsehoods, and de¬ 
stroying the vain hopes of the enemy, he wrote to the 
queen, entreating her to come and take up her residence 
in the camp. 



CHAPTEB LV. 


SIEGE OF MALAGA CONTINUED.—OBSTINACY OF HAMET EL ZEGRI. 


BEAT was the enthusiasm of the army, when 
they beheld their patriot queen advancing in 
state, to share the toils and dangers of her 
people. Isabella entered the camp, attended by the dig¬ 
nitaries and the whole retinue of her court, to manifest 
that this was no temporary visit. On one side of her 
was her daughter, the Infanta; on the other, the grand 
cardinal of Spain; Hernando de Talavere, the prior of 
Prado, confessor to the queen, followed, with a great 
train of prelates, courtiers, cavaliers, and ladies of dis¬ 
tinction. The cavalcade moved in calm and stately order 
through the camp, softening the iron aspect of war by 
this array of courtly grace and female beauty. 

Isabella had commanded, that on her coming to the 
camp, the horrors of war should be suspended, and fresh 
offers of peace made to the enemy. On her arrival, 
therefore, there had been a general cessation of firing 
throughout the camp. A messenger was, at the same 
time, dispatched to the besieged, informing them of her 
being in the camp, and of the determination of the sover- 

394 







CONTINUANCE OF THE SIEGE. 


395 


eigns to make it their settled residence until the city 
should be taken. The same terms were offered, in case 
of immediate surrender, that had been granted to Velez 
Malaga; but the inhabitants were threatened with cap¬ 
tivity and the sword, should they persist in their defense. 

Hamet el Zegri received this message with haughty 
contempt, and dismissed the messenger without deigning 
a reply, and accompanied by an escort to prevent his 
holding any communication with the inhabitants in the 
streets. “ The Christian sovereigns,” said Hamet to 
those about him, “ have made this offer in consequence 
of their despair. The silence of their batteries proves 
the truth of what has been told us, that their powder is 
exhausted. They have no longer the means of demolish¬ 
ing our walls; and if they remain much longer, the 
autumnal rains will interrupt their convoys, and fill their 
camp with famine and disease. The first storm will dis¬ 
perse their fleet, which has no neighboring port of shel¬ 
ter : Africa will then be open to us, to procure reinforce¬ 
ments and supplies.” 

The words of Hamet El Zegri were hailed as oracular, 
by his adherents. Many of the peaceful part of the com¬ 
munity, however, ventured to remonstrate, and to im¬ 
plore him to accept the proffered mercy. The stern 
Hamet silenced them with a terrific threat: he declared, 
that whoever should talk of capitulating, or should hold 
any communication with the Christians should be pift to 
death. The Gomeres, like true men of the sword, acted 



396 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


upon tlie menace of their chieftain as upon a written law, 
and having detected several of the inhabitants in secret 
correspondence with the enemy, set upon and slew them, 
and confiscated their effects. This struck such terror 
into the citizens, that those who had been loudest in 
their murmurs became suddenly mute, and were re¬ 
marked as evincing the greatest bustle and alacrity in 
the defense of the city. 

When the messenger returned to the camp, and re¬ 
ported the contemptuous reception of the royal message. 
King Ferdinand was exceedingly indignant. Finding the 
cessation of firing, on the queen’s arrival, had encouraged 
a belief among the enemy that there was a scarcity of 
powder in the camp, he ordered a general discharge from 
all the batteries. The sudden burst of war from every 
quarter soon convinced the Moors of their error, and 
completed the confusion of the citizens, who knew not 
which most to dread, their assailants or their defenders, 
the Christians or the Gomeres. 

That evening the sovereigns visited the encampment of 
the marques of Cadiz, which commanded a view over a 
great part of the city, the camp, and the sea with its 
flotillas. The tent of the marques was of great magni¬ 
tude, furnished with hangings of rich brocade and French 
cloth of the rarest texture. It was in the oriental style ; 
and, as it crowned the height, with the surrounding tents 
of other cavaliers, all sumptuously furnished, presented 
ft gay and silken contrast to the opposite towers of Gib- 


ROYAL VISIT TO THE MARQUES OF CADIZ. 397 

ralfaro. Here a splendid collation was served np to tlie 
sovereigns, and tlie courtly revel that prevailed in this 
chivalrous encampment, the glitter of pageantry, and the 
bursts of festive music, made more striking the gloom 
and silence that reigned over the Moorish castle. 

The marques of Cadiz, while it was yet light, conducted 
his royal visitors to every point that commanded a view 
of the warlike scene below. He caused the heavy lom¬ 
bards also to be discharged, that the queen and ladies of 
the court might witness the effect of those tremendous 
engines. The fair dames were filled with awe and admi¬ 
ration, as the mountain shook beneath their feet with the 
thunder of the artillery, and they beheld great fragments of 
the Moorish walls tumbling down the rocks and precipices. 

While the good marques was displaying these things 
to his royal guests, he lifted up his eyes, and to his as¬ 
tonishment beheld his own banner hanging out from the 
nearest tower of Gibralfaro. The blood mantled in his 
cheek, for it was a banner he had lost at the time of the 
memorable massacre of the heights of Malaga.* To 
make this taunt more evident, several of the Gomeres 
displayed themselves upon the battlements, arrayed in 
the helmets and cuirasses of some of the cavaliers slain 
or captured on that occasion. The marques of Cadiz re¬ 
strained his indignation, and held his peace ; but several 
of his cavaliers vowed loudly to revenge this cruel bra-v 
vado, on the ferocious garrison of Gibralfaro. 


* Diego de Valera, Cronica, MS. 


CHAPTER LVL 


ATTACK OF THE MARQUES OF CADIZ UPON GIBRALFARO. 



1IHE marques of Cadiz was not a cavalier tnat 
readily forgave an injury or an insult. On the 
morning after the royal banquet, his batteries 
opened a tremendous fire upon Gibralfaro. All day, the 
encampment was wrapped in wreaths of smoke; nor 
did the assault cease with the day—but, throughout the 
night, there was an incessant flashing and thundering of 
the lombards, and, the following morning, the assault 
rather increased than slackened in fury. The Moorish 
bulwarks were no proof against those formidable engines. 
In a few days, the lofty tower on which the taunting 
banner had been displayed, was shattered; a smaller 
tower in its vicinity reduced to ruins, and a great breach 
made in the intervening walls. 

Several of the hot-spirited cavaliers were eager for 
storming the breach, sword in hand; others, more cool 
and wary, pointed out the rashness of such an attempt; 
for the Moors had worked indefatigably in the night; 
they had digged a deep ditch within the breach, and had 
fortified it with palisadoes and a high breastwork. All, 

398 








SALLY OF THE MOORS. 


399 


however, agreed that the camp might safely be advanced 
near to the ruined walls, and that it ought to be done so, 
in return for the insolent defiance of the enemy. 

The marques of Cadiz felt the temerity of the measure, 
but was unwilling to dampen the zeal of these high- 
spirited cavaliers; and having chosen the post of danger 
in the camp, it did not become him to decline any 
service, merely because it might appear perilous. He 
ordered his outposts, therefore, to be advanced within a 
stone’s-throw of the breach, but exhorted the soldiers to 
maintain the utmost vigilance. 

The thunder of the batteries had ceased; the troops, 
exhausted by two nights’ fatigue and watchfulness, and 
apprehending no danger from the dismantled walls, were 
half of them asleep; the rest were scattered about in 
negligent security. On a sudden, upward of two thou¬ 
sand Moors sallied forth from the castle, led on by Ibra¬ 
him Zenete, the principal captain under Hamet. They 
fell with fearful havoc upon the advanced guard, slaying 
many of them in their sleep, and putting the rest to head¬ 
long flight. 

The marques was in his tent, about a bow-shot distant, 
when he heard the tumult of the onset, and beheld his 
men flying in confusion. He rushed forth, followed by 
his standard-bearer. “ Turn again, cavaliers! ” exclaimed 
he ; “I am here, Ponce de Leon! to the foe ! to the foe ! ” 
The flying troops stopped at hearing his well-known 
voice, rallied under his banner, and turned upon the 


400 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


enemy. The encampment, by this time, was roused; sev¬ 
eral cavaliers from the adjoining stations had hastened 
to the scene of action, with a number of Galicians and 
soldiers of the Holy Brotherhood. An obstinate and 
bloody contest ensued; the ruggedness of the place, the 
rocks, chasms, and declivities, broke it into numerous 
combats: Christian and Moor fought hand to hand, with 
swords and daggers; and often, grappling and struggling, 
rolled together down the precipices. 

The banner of the marques was in danger of being 
taken; he hastened to its rescue, followed by some of 
his bravest cavaliers. They were surrounded by the 
enemy, and several of them cut down. Don Diego Ponce 
de Leon, brother to the marques, was wounded by an 
arrow; and his son-in-law, Luis Ponce, was likewise 
wounded: they succeeded, however, in rescuing the ban¬ 
ner, and bearing it off in safety. The battle lasted for an 
hour; the height was covered with killed and wounded, 
and the blood flowed in streams down the rocks; at 
length, Ibrahim Zenete, being disabled by the thrust of 
a lance, the Moors gave way and retreated to the castle. 

They now opened a galling fire from their battlements 
and towers, approaching the breaches so as to discharge 
their cross-bows and arquebuses into the advanced guard 
of the encampment. The marques was singled out; the 
shot fell thick about him, and one passed through his 
buckler, and struck upon his cuirass, but without doing 
him any injury. Every one now saw the danger and inu- 


DEATH OF ORTEGA DEL PRADO. 


401 


tility of approaching the camp thus near to the castle; 
and those who had counseled it, were now urgent that it 
should be withdrawn. It was accordingly removed back 
to its original ground, from which the marques had most 
reluctantly advanced it. Nothing but his valor and 
timely aid had prevented this attack on his outpost from 
ending in a total rout of all that part of the army. 

Many cavaliers of distinction fell in this contest; but 
the loss of none was felt more deeply than that of Ortega 
del Prado, captain of escaladors. He was one of the 
bravest men in the service; the same who had devised 
the first successful blow of the war, the storming of 
Alhama, where he was the first to plant and mount the 
scaling-ladders. He had always been high in the favor 
and confidence of the noble Ponce de Leon, who knew 
how to appreciate and avail himself of the merits of all 
able and valiant men.* 

* Zurita. Mariana. Abarca. 

26 


CHAPTER LVH 


SIEGE OF MALAGA CONTINUED.—STRATAGEMS OF VARIOUS KINDS. 



REAT were the exertions now made, both by 
the besiegers and the besieged, to carry on this 
contest with the utmost vigor. Hamet went 
the rounds of the walls and towers, doubling the guards, 
and putting everything in the best posture of defense. 
The garrison was divided into parties of a hundred, to 
each of which a captain was appointed. Some were to 
patrol, others to sally forth and skirmish with the enemy, 
and others to hold themselves armed and in reserve. 
Six albatozas, or floating batteries, were manned and 
armed with pieces of artillery, to attack the fleet. 

On the other hand, the Castilian sovereigns kept open 
a communication by sea with various parts of Spain, 
from which they received provisions of all kinds ; they 
ordered supplies of powder also from Valencia, Barce¬ 
lona, Sicily, and Portugal. They made great prepara¬ 
tions also for storming the city. Towers of wood were 
constructed, to move on wheels, each capable of holding 
one hundred men ; they were furnished with ladders, to 
be thrown from their summits to the tops of the walls; 

402 






FERDINAND'S SECRET MINING. 


403 


and within those ladders others were encased, to be let 
down for the descent of the troops into the city. There 
were gallipagos or tortoises, also, being great wooden 
shields, covered with hides, to protect the assailants and 
those who undermined the walls. 

Secret mines were commenced in various places ; some 
were intended to reach to the foundations of the walls, 
which were to be propped up with wood, ready to be set 
on fire ; others were to pass under the walls, and remain 
ready to be broken open, so as to give entrance to the 
besiegers. At these mines the army worked day and 
night; and, during these secret preparations, the ord¬ 
nance kept up a fire upon the city, to divert the attention 
of the besieged. 

In the meantime, Hamet displayed wonderful vigor 
and ingenuity in defending the city, and in repairing or 
fortifying, by deep ditches, the breaches made by the 
enemy. He noted, also, every place where the camp 
might be assailed with advantage, and gave the besieging 
army no repose night or day. While his troops sallied 
on the land, his floating batteries attacked the besiegers 
on the sea; so that there was incessant skirmishing. 
The tents called the Queen’s Hospital were crowded 
with wounded, and the whole army suffered from con¬ 
stant watchfulness and fatigue. To guard against the 
sudden assaults of the Moors, the trenches were deep¬ 
ened, and palisadoes erected in front of the camp ; and 
in that part facing Gibralfaro, where the rocky heights 


404 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


did not admit of such defenses, a high rampart of earth 
was thrown up. The cavaliers Garcilasso de la Yega, 
Juan de Zuniga, and Diego de Atayde were appointed to 
go the rounds, and keep vigilant watch that these fortifi¬ 
cations were maintained in good order. 

In a little while Hamet discovered the mines secretly 
commenced by the Christians: he immediately ordered 
counter-mines. The soldiers mutually worked until they 
met and fought hand to hand, in these subterranean pas¬ 
sages. The Christians were driven out of one of their 
mines; fire was set to the wooden framework, and the 
mine destroyed. Encouraged by this success, the Moors 
attempted a general attack upon the camp, the mines, 
and the besieging fleet. The battle lasted for six hours, 
on land and water, above and below ground, on bulwark 
and in trench and mine; the Moors displayed wonderful 
intrepidity, but were finally repulsed at all points, and 
obliged to retire into the city, where they were closely 
invested, without the means of receiving any assistance 
from abroad. 

The horrors of famine were now added to the other 
miseries of Malaga. Hamet, with the spirit of a man 
bred up to war, considered everything as subservient to 
the wants of the soldier, and ordered all the grain in the 
city to be gathered and garnered up for the sole use of 
those who fought. Even this was dealt out sparingly, 
and each soldier received four ounces of bread in the 
morning, and two in the evening, for his daily allowance. 


THE CITIZENS PROTEST 


405 


The wealthy inhabitants, and all those peacefully in¬ 
clined, mourned over a resistance which brought de¬ 
struction upon their houses, death into their families, 
and which they saw must end in their ruin and captivity; 
still none of them dared to speak openly of capitulation, 
or even to manifest their grief, lest they should awaken 
the wrath of their fierce defenders. They surrounded 
their civic champion, Ali Dordux, the great and opulent 
merchant, who had buckled on shield and cuirass, and 
taken spear in hand for the defense of his native city, 
and, with a large body of the braver citizens, had charge 
of one of the gates and a considerable portion of the 
walls. Drawing Ali Dordux aside, they poured forth 
their griefs to him in secret. “Why,” said they, “should 
we suffer our native city to be made a mere bulwark and 
fighting-place for foreign barbarians and desperate men? 
They have no families to care for, no property to lose, 
no love for the soil, and no value for their lives. They 
fight to gratify a thirst for blood or a desire for revenge, 
and will fight on until Malaga becomes a ruin and its 
people slaves. Let us think and act for ourselves, our 
wives, and our children. Let us make private terms 
with the Christians before it is too late, and save our¬ 
selves from destruction.” 

The bowels of Ali Dordux yearned towards his fellow- 
citizens ; he bethought him also of the sweet security of 
peace, and the bloodless yet gratifying triumphs of gain¬ 
ful traffic. The idea also of a secret negotiation or bar- 


406 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


gain with the Castilian sovereigns, for the redemption 
of his native city, was more conformable to his accus¬ 
tomed habits than this violent appeal to arms; for though 
he had for a time assumed the warrior, he had not for¬ 
gotten the merchant. Ali Dordux communed, therefore, 
with the citizen-soldiers under his command, and they 
readily conformed to his opinion. Concerting together, 
they wrote a proposition to the Castilian sovereigns, 
offering to admit the army into the part of the city in¬ 
trusted to their care, on receiving assurance of protec¬ 
tion for the lives and properties of the inhabitants. 
This writing they delivered to a trusty emissary to take 
to the Christian camp, appointing the hour and place 
of his return, that they might be ready to admit him 
unperceived. 

The Moor made his way in safety to the camp, and 
was admitted to the presence of the sovereigns. Eager 
to gain the city without further cost of blood or treasure, 
they gave a written promise to grant the condition ; and 
the Moor set out joyfully on his return. As he ap¬ 
proached the walls where Ali Dordux and his confeder¬ 
ates were waiting to receive him, he was descried by a 
patrolling band of Gomeres, and considered a spy coming 
from the camp of the besiegers. They issued forth and 
seized him, in sight of his employers, who gave them¬ 
selves up for lost. The Gomeres had conducted him 
nearly to the gate, when he escaped from their grasp and 
fled. They endeavored to overtake him, but were en- 


NEGOTIATION OF All DORDUX. 


407 


cumbered with armor; he was lightly clad, and he fled 
for his life. One of the Gomeres paused, and, leveling 
his cross-bow, let fly a bolt, which pierced the fugitive 
between the shoulders; he fell, and was nearly within 
their grasp, but rose again, and with a desperate effort 
attained the Christian camp. The Gomeres gave over 
the pursuit, and the citizens returned thanks to Allah for 
their deliverance from this fearful peril. As to the faith¬ 
ful messenger, he died of his wound shortly after reach¬ 
ing the camp, consoled with the idea that he had pre¬ 
served the secret and the lives of his employers.* 


* Pulgar. Cronica, p. 8, c. 80. 


CHAPTER LYin. 

SUFFERINGS OF THE PEOPLE OF MALAGA. 

H E sufferings of Malaga spread sorrow and anx¬ 
iety among the Moors; and they dreaded lest 
this beautiful city, once the bulwark of the 
kingdom, should fall into the hands of the unbelievers. 
The old warrior king, Abdallah el Zagal, was still shel¬ 
tered in Guadix, where he was slowly gathering together 
his shattered forces. When the people of Guadix heard 
of the danger and distress of Malaga, they urged to be 
led to its -relief; and the alfaquis admonished El Zagal 
not to desert so righteous and loyal a city, in its extrem¬ 
ity. His own warlike nature made him feel a sympathy 
for a place that made so gallant a resistance ; and he dis¬ 
patched as powerful a reinforcement as he could spare, 
under conduct of a chosen captain, with orders to throw 
themselves into the city. 

Intelligence of this reinforcement reached Boabdil el 
Chico in his royal palace of the Alhambra. Filled with 
hostility against his uncle, and desirous of proving his 
loyalty to the Castilian sovereigns, he immediately sent 
forth a superior force of horse and foot, under an able 

408 






BOABDIL’S VICTORY. 


409 


commander, to intercept the detachment. A sharp con¬ 
flict ensued; the troops of El Zagal were routed with 
great loss, and fled back in confusion to Guadix. 

Boabdil, not being accustomed to victories, was flushed 
with this melancholy triumph. He sent tidings of it to 
the Castilian sovereigns, accompanied with rich silks, 
boxes of Arabian perfume, a cup of gold, richly wrought, 
and a female captive of Ubeda, as presents to the queen; 
and four Arabian steeds, magnificently caparisoned, a 
sword and dagger richly mounted, and several albornozes 
and other robes sumptuously embroidered, for the king. 
He entreated them, at the same time, always to look 
upon him with favor as their devoted vassal. 

Boabdil was fated to be unfortunate, even in his vic¬ 
tories. His defeat of the forces of his uncle, destined to 
the relief of unhappy Malaga, shocked the feelings and 
cooled the loyalty of many of his best adherents. The 
mere men of traffic might rejoice in their golden interval 
of peace; but the chivalrous spirits of Granada spurned 
a security purchased by such sacrifices of pride and af¬ 
fection. The people at large, having gratified their love 
of change, began to question whether they had acted 
generously by their old fighting monarch. “ El Zagal,” 
said they, “ was fierce and bloody, but then he was faith¬ 
ful to his country; he was an usurper, it is true, but then 
he maintained the glory of the crown which he usurped. 
If his sceptre was a rod of iron to his subjects, it was a 
sword of steel against their enemies. This Boabdil sac- 



410 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


rifices religion, friends, country, everything, to a mere 
shadow of royalty, and is content to hold a rush for a 
sceptre.” 

These factious murmurs soon reached the ears of 
Boabdil, and he apprehended another of his customary 
reverses. He sent in all haste to the Castilian sov¬ 
ereigns, beseeching military aid to keep him on his 
throne. Ferdinand graciously complied with a request 
so much in unison with his policy. A detachment of one 
thousand cavalry and two thousand infantry was sent, 
under the command of Don Fernandez Gonsalvo of Cor¬ 
dova, subsequently renowned as the grand captain. With 
this succor, Boabdil expelled from the city all those who 
were hostile to him, and in favor of his uncle. He felt 
secure in these troops, from their being distinct in man¬ 
ners, language, and religion, from his subjects; and com¬ 
promised with his pride, in thus exhibiting that most 
unnatural and humiliating of all regal spectacles, a mon¬ 
arch supported on his throne by foreign weapons and by 
soldiers hostile to his people. 

Nor was Boabdil el Chico the only Moorish sovereign 
that sought protection from Ferdinand and Isabella. A 
splendid galley, with lateen sails, and several banks of 
oars, displaying the standard of the crescent, but like¬ 
wise a white flag in sign of amity, came one day into the 
harbor. An ambassador landed from it, within the Chris¬ 
tian lines. He came from the king of Tremezan, and 
brought presents similar to those of Boabdil, consisting 


EMBASSY FROM THE KINO OF TREMEZAN. 411 

of Arabian coursers, with bits, stirrups, and other furni¬ 
ture of gold, together with costly Moorish mantles; for 
the queen, there were sumptuous shawls, robes, and 
silken stuffs, ornaments of gold, and exquisite oriental 
perfumes. 

The king of Tremezan had been alarmed at the rapid 
conquests of the Spanish arms, and startled by the de¬ 
scent of several Spanish cruisers on the coast of Africa. 
He craved to be considered a vassal to the Castilian 
sovereigns, and that they would extend such favor and 
security to his ships and subjects as had been shown 
to other Moors who had submitted to their sway. He 
requested a painting of their arms, that he and his sub¬ 
jects might recognize and respect their standard, when¬ 
ever they encountered it. At the same time he implored 
their clemency toward unhappy Malaga, and that its in¬ 
habitants might experience the same favor that had been 
shown towards the Moors of other captured cities. 

The embassy was graciously received by the Christian 
sovereigns. They granted the protection required; or¬ 
dering their commanders to respect the flag of Tremezan, 
unless it should be found rendering assistance to the 
enemy. They sent also to the Barbary monarch their 
royal arms, moulded in escutcheons of gold, a hand’s- 
breadth in size.* 

While thus the chances of assistance from without 


* Cura de los Palacios , c. 84. Pulgar, part 3, c. 68. 


412 


CONQUEST OF OR AN AD A. 


daily decreased, famine raged in the city. The inhabi¬ 
tants were compelled to eat the flesh of horses, and many 
died of hunger. What made the sufferings of the citizens 
the more intolerable was, to behold the sea covered with 
ships, daily arriving with provisions for the besiegers. 
Day after day, also, they saw herds of fat cattle and 
flocks of sheep driven into the camp. Wheat and flour 
were piled in huge mounds in the centre of the encamp¬ 
ments, glaring in the sunshine, and tantalizing the 
wretched citizens, who, while they and their children 
were perishing with hunger, beheld prodigal abundance 
reigning within a bowshot of their walls. 


CHAPTER LIX. 


HOW A MOORISH SANTON UNDERTOOK TO DELIVER THE CITY 
FROM THE POWER OF ITS ENEMIES. 


HEBE lived at this time, in a hamlet in the 
neighborhood of Guadix, an ancient Moor, of 
the name of Ibrahim el Gnerbi. He was a na¬ 
tive of the island of Guerbes, in the kingdom of Tunis, 
and had for several years led the life of a santon or her¬ 
mit. The hot sun of Africa had dried his blood, and 
rendered him of an exalted yet melancholy temperament. 
He passed most of his time in caves of the mountains, 
in meditation, prayer, and rigorous abstinence, until his 
body was wasted and his mind bewildered, and he fan¬ 
cied himself favored with divine revelations, and visited 
by angels, sent by Mahomet. The Moors, who have a 
great reverence for all enthusiasts of the kind, believed 
in his being inspired, listened to all his ravings as veri¬ 
table prophecies, and denominated him el santo, or the 
saint. 

The woes of the kingdom of Granada had long exas¬ 
perated the gloomy spirit of this man, and he had beheld 

with indignation this beautiful country wrested from the 

413 






414 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


dominion of the faithful, and becoming a prey to the un¬ 
believers. He had implored the blessings of Allah on 
the troops which issued forth from Guadix for the relief 
of Malaga; but when he saw them return, routed and 
scattered by their own countrymen, he retired to his 
cell, shut himself up from the world, and was plunged for 
a time in the blackest melancholy. 

On a sudden he made his appearance again in the 
streets of Guadix, his face haggard, his form emaciated, 
but his eye beaming with fire. He said that Allah had 
sent an angel to him in the solitude of his cell, revealing 
to him a mode of delivering Malaga from its perils, and 
striking horror and confusion into the camp of the unbe¬ 
lievers. The Moors listened with eager credulity to his 
words: four hundred of them offered to follow him even 
to the death, and to obey implicitly his commands. Of 
this number many were Gomeres, anxious to relieve their 
countrymen, who formed part of the garrison of Malaga. 

They traversed the kingdom by the wild and lonely 
passes of the mountains, concealing themselves in the 
day and travelling only in the night, to elude the Chris¬ 
tian scouts. At length they arrived at the mountains 
which tower above Malaga, and, looking down, beheld 
the city completely invested; a chain of encampments 
extending round it from shore to shore, and a line of 
ships blockading it by sea; while the continual thunder 
of artillery, and the smoke rising in various parts, showed 
that the siege was pressed with great activity. The 


THE MOORISH SAN TON. 


415 


hermit scanned the encampments warily, from his lofty 
height. He saw that the part of the encampment of the 
marques of Cadiz which was at the foot of the height, 
and on the margin of the sea, was most assailable, the 
rocky soil not admitting ditches or palisadoes. Bemain- 
ing concealed all day, he descended with his followers at 
night to the sea-coast, and approached silently to the 
outworks. He had given them their instructions; they 
were to rush suddenly upon the camp, fight their way 
through, and throw themselves into the city. 

It was just at the gray of the dawning, when objects 
are obscurely visible, that they made this desperate at¬ 
tempt. Some sprang suddenly upon the sentinels, others 
rushed into the sea and got round the works, others 
clambered over the breastworks. There was sharp skir¬ 
mishing ; a great part of the Moors were cut to pieces, 
but about two hundred succeeded in getting into the 
gates of Malaga. 

The santon took no part in the conflict, nor did he 
endeavor to enter the city. His plans were of a different 
nature. Drawing apart from the battle, he threw himself 
on his knees on a rising ground, and, lifting his hands to 
Heaven, appeared to be absorbed in prayer. The Chris¬ 
tians, as they were searching for fugitives in the clefts of 
the rocks, found him at his devotions. He stirred not at 
their approach, but remained fixed as a statue, without 
changing color or moving a muscle. Filled with sur¬ 
prise, not unmingled with awe, they took him to the 


416 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA . 


marques of Cadiz. He was wrapped in a coarse albor* 
noz, or Moorish mantle; his beard was long and grizzled, 
and there was something wild and melancholy in his 
look, that inspired curiosity. On being examined, he 
gave himself out as a saint to whom Allah had revealed 
the events that were to take place in that siege. The 
marques demanded when and how Malaga was to be 
taken. He replied that he knew full well, but he was 
forbidden to reveal those important secrets except to the 
king and queen. The good marques was not more given 
to superstitious fancies than other commanders of his 
time, yet there seemed something singular and mysteri¬ 
ous about this man; he might have some important in¬ 
telligence to communicate; so he was persuaded to send 
him to the king and queen. He was conducted to the 
royal tent, surrounded by a curious multitude, exclaim¬ 
ing, “ El Moro Santo!” for the news had spread through 
the camp, that they had taken a Moorish prophet. 

The king, having dined, was taking his siesta, or after¬ 
noon’s sleep, in his tent; and the queen, though curious 
to see this singular man, yet, from a natural delicacy and 
reserve, delayed until the king should be present. He 
was taken therefore to an adjoining tent, in which were 
Dona Beatrix de Bobadilla, marchioness of Moya, and 
Don Alvaro of Portugal, son of the duke of Braganza, 
with two or three attendants. The Moor, ignorant of the 
Spanish tongue, had not understood the conversation of 
the guards, and supposed, from the magnificence of the 


TREACHEROUS ATTACK. 


417 


furniture and the silken hangings, that this was the royal 
tent. From the respect paid by the attendants to Don 
Alvaro and the marchioness, he concluded that they were 
the king and queen. 

He now asked for a draught of water; a jar was 
brought to him, and the guard released his arm to enable 
him to drink. The marchioness perceived a sudden 
change in his countenance, and something sinister in the 
expression of his eye, and shifted her position to a more 
remote part of the tent. Pretending to raise the water 
to his lips, the Moor unfolded his albornoz, so as to 
grasp a scimetar which he wore concealed beneath; 
then, dashing down the jar, he drew his weapon, and 
gave Don Alvaro a blow on the head, that struck him to 
the earth, and nearly deprived him of life. Turning 
then upon the marchioness, he made a violent blow at 
her ; but in his eagerness and agitation, his scimetar 
caught in the drapery of the tent; the force of the blow 
was broken, and the weapon struck harmless upon some 
golden ornaments of her head-dress.* 

Ruy Lopez de Toledo, treasurer to the queen, and 
Juan de Belalcazar, a sturdy friar, who were present, 
grappled and struggled with the desperado ; and imme¬ 
diately the guards, who had conducted him from the 
marques de Cadiz, fell upon him and cut him to pieces.f 
The king and queen, brought out of their tents by 
the noise, were filled with horror when they learned the 

* Pietro Martyr, Epist. 62. f Cura de los Palacios. 

27 


418 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


imminent peril from which they had escaped. The 
mangled body of the Moor was taken by the people 
to the camp, and thrown into the city from a catapult. 
The Gomeres gathered up the body with deep reverence, 
as the remains of a saint; they washed and perfumed it, 
and buried it with great honor and loud lamentations. 
In revenge of his death, they slew one of their principal 
Christian captives, and, having tied his body upon an 
ass, they drove the animal forth into the camp. 

From this time, there was appointed an additional 
guard around the tents of the king and queen, composed 
of four hundred cavaliers of rank, of the kingdoms of 
Castile and Arragon. No person was admitted to the 
royal presence armed; no Moor was allowed to enter 
the camp, without a previous knowledge of his character 
and business; and on no account was any Moor to be 
introduced into the presence of the sovereigns. 

An act of treachery of such ferocious nature, gave rise 
to a train of gloomy apprehensions. There were many ca¬ 
bins and sheds about the camp, constructed of branches 
of trees which had become dry and combustible; and 
fears were entertained that they might be set on fire 
by the Mudexares or Moorish vassals, who visited the 
army. Some even dreaded that attempts might be made 
to poison the wells and fountains. To quiet these dismal 
alarms, all Mudexares were ordered to leave the camp; 
and all loose, idle loiterers, who could not give a good 
account of themselves, were taken into custody. 


CHAPTER LX. 



HOW HAMET EL ZEGRI WAS HARDENED IN HIS OBSTINACY, BY THE ART* OF A 
MOORISH ASTROLOGER. 

MONG those followers of the santon that had 
effected their entrance into the city, was a dark 
African of the tribe of the Gomeres, who was 
likewise a hermit or dervise, and passed among the 
Moors for a holy and inspired man. No sooner were 
the mangled remains of his predecessor buried with the 
honors of martyrdom, than this dervise elevated himself 
in his place, and professed to be gifted with the spirit 
of prophecy. He displayed a white banner, which, he 
assured the Moors, was sacred; that he had retained it 
for twenty years for some signal purpose, and that Allah 
had revealed to him that under that banner the inhabi¬ 
tants of Malaga should sally forth upon the camp of the 
unbelievers, put it to utter rout, and banquet upon the 
provisions in which it abounded.* The hungry and 
credulous Moors were elated at this prediction, and 
cried out to be led forth at once to the attack; but the 


* Cura de los Palacios, cap. 84 


419 



420 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


dervise told them the time was not yet arrived, for every 
event had its allotted day in the decrees of fate; they 
must wait patiently, therefore, until the appointed time 
should be revealed to him by Heaven. Hamet el Zegri 
listened to the dervise with profound reverence, and his 
example had great effect in increasing the awe and def¬ 
erence of his followers. He took the holy man up into 
his stronghold of Gibralfaro, consulted him on all occa¬ 
sions, and hung out his white banner on the loftiest 
tower, as a signal of encouragement to the people of the 
city. 

In the meantime, the prime chivalry of Spain was grad¬ 
ually assembling before the walls of Malaga. The army 
which had commenced the siege had been worn out by 
extreme hardships, having had to construct immense 
works, to dig trenches and mines, to mount guard by sea 
and land, to patrol the mountains, and to sustain inces¬ 
sant conflicts. The sovereigns were obliged, therefore, 
to call upon various distant cities, for reinforcements of 
horse and foot. Many nobles also assembled their vas¬ 
sals, and repaired, of their own accord, to the royal camp. 

Every little while, some stately galley or gallant cara¬ 
vel would stand into the harbor, displaying the well- 
known banner of some Spanish cavalier, and thundering 
from its artillery a salutation to the sovereigns and a de¬ 
fiance to the Moors. On the land side also, reinforce¬ 
ments would be seen, winding down from the mountains 
to the sound of drum and trumpet, and marching into 


REINFORCEMENTS BY MEDINA SIDONIA. 421 


the camp with glistening arms, as yet unsullied by the 
toils of war. 

One morning, the whole sea was whitened by the sails 
and vexed by the oars of ships and galleys bearing to¬ 
wards the port. One hundred vessels of various kinds 
and sizes arrived, some armed for warlike service, others 
deep freighted with provisions. At the same time, the 
clangor of drum and trumpet bespoke the arrival of a 
powerful force by land, which came pouring in lengthen¬ 
ing columns into the camp. This mighty reinforcement 
was furnished by the duke of Medina Sidonia, who 
reigned like a petty monarch over his vast possessions. 
He came with this princely force, a volunteer to the 
royal standard, not having been summoned by the sov¬ 
ereigns ; and he brought, moreover, a loan of twenty 
thousand doblas of gold. 

When the camp was thus powerfully reinforced, Isa¬ 
bella advised that new offers of an indulgent kind should 
be made to the inhabitants; for she was anxious to pre¬ 
vent the miseries of a protracted siege, or the effusion 
of blood that must attend a general attack. A fresh 
summons was therefore sent for the city to surrender, 
with a promise of life, liberty, and property in case of 
immediate compliance; but denouncing all the horrors 
of war, if the defense were obstinately continued. 

Hamet again rejected the offer with scorn. His main 
fortifications as yet were but little impaired, and were 
capable of holding out much longer; he trusted to the 


422 


CONQUEST OF ORAN ABA. 


thousand evils and accidents that beset a besieging 
army, and to the inclemencies of the approaching sea¬ 
son ; and it is said that he, as well as his followers, had 
an infatuated belief in the predictions of the dervise. 

The worthy Fray Antonio Agapida does not scruple 
to affirm that the pretended prophet of the city was an 
arch nigromancer, or Moorish magician, “ of which there 
be countless many,” says he, “ in the filthy sect of Ma¬ 
homet ; ” and that he was leagued with the prince of the 
powers of the air, to endeavor to work the confusion and 
defeat of the Christian army. The worthy father asserts, 
also, that Hamet employed him in a high tower of the 
Gibralfaro, which commanded a wide view over sea and 
land, where he wrought spells and incantations with 
astrolabes and other diabolical instruments to defeat the 
Christian ships and forces, whenever they were engaged 
with the Moors. 

To the potent spells of this sorcerer, he ascribes the 
perils and losses sustained by a party of cavaliers of the 
royal household, in a desperate combat to gain two 
towers in the suburb, near the gate of the city, called la 
Puerto de Granada. The Christians, led on by Euy 
Lopez de Toledo, the valiant treasurer of the queen, took, 
and lost, and retook the towers, which were finally set on 
fire by the Moors, and abandoned to the flames by both 
parties. To the same malignant influence he attributes 
the damage done to the Christian fleet, which was so vig¬ 
orously assailed by the albatozas, or floating batteries 


THE MOORISH ASTROLOGER. 


423 


of tlie Moors, that one ship, belonging to the duke of 
Medina Sidonia, was sunk, and the rest were obliged to 
retire. 

“ Hamet el Zegri,” says Fray Antonio Agapida, “ stood 
on the top of the high tower of Gibralfaro, and beheld 
this injury wrought upon the Christian force; and his 
proud heart was puffed up. And the Moorish nigro- 
mancer stood beside him. And he pointed out to him 
the Christian host below, encamped on every eminence 
around the city, and covering its fertile valley, and the 
many ships floating upon the tranquil sea; and he bade 
him be strong of heart, for that in a few days all this 
mighty fleet would be scattered by the winds of Heaven ; 
and that he should sally forth, under the guidance of the 
sacred banner, and attack this host and utterly defeat it, 
and make spoil of those sumptuous tents ; and Malaga 
should be triumphantly revenged upon her assailants. 
So the heart of Hamet was hardened like that of Pha¬ 
raoh, and he persisted in setting at defiance the Catholic 
sovereigns and their army of saintly warriors.” 


CHAPTER LXL 


SIEGE OF MAE AG A CONTINUED.—DESTRUCTION OF A TOWER, BY FRANCISCO 
RAMIREZ DE MADRID. 

EEING the infatuated obstinacy of the be¬ 
sieged, the Christians now approached their 
works to the walls, gaining one position after 
preparatory to a general assault. Near the bar¬ 
rier of the city was a bridge with four arches, defended 
at each end by a strong and lofty tower, by which a part 
of the army would have to pass in making an attack. 
The commander-in-chief of the artillery, Francisco Rami¬ 
rez de Madrid, was ordered to take possession of this 
bridge. The approach to it was perilous in the extreme, 
from the exposed situation of the assailants, and the 
number of Moors that garrisoned the towers. Francisco 
Ramirez therefore secretly excavated a mine leading be¬ 
neath the first tower, and placed a piece of ordnance with 
its mouth upwards, immediately under the foundation, 
with a train of powder to produce an explosion at the 
necessary moment. 

When this was arranged, he advanced slowly with his 
forces in face of the towers, erecting bulwarks at every 

434 



another, 







GUNPOWDER USED IN A MINE. 


425 


step, and gradually gaining ground until he arrived near 
to the bridge. He then planted several pieces of artil¬ 
lery in his works, and began to batter the tower. The 
Moors replied bravely from their battlements, but, in the 
heat of the combat, the piece of ordnance under the 
foundation was discharged. The earth was rent open, a 
part of the tower overthrown, and several of the Moors 
were torn to pieces ; the rest took to flight, overwhelmed 
with terror at this thundering explosion bursting be¬ 
neath their feet, and at beholding the earth vomiting 
flames and smoke; for never before had they witnessed 
such a stratagem in warfare. The Christians rushed for¬ 
ward and took possession of the abandoned post, and im¬ 
mediately commenced an attack upon the other tower at 
the opposite end of the bridge, to which the Moors had 
retired. An incessant fire of cross-bows and arquebuses 
was kept up between the rival towers, volleys of stones 
were discharged, and no one dared to venture upon the 
intermediate bridge. 

Francisco de Ramirez at length renewed his former 
mode of approach, making bulwarks step by step, while 
the Moors stationed at the other end, swept the bridge 
with their artillery. The combat was long and bloody, 
—furious on the part of the Moors, patient and persever¬ 
ing on the part of the Christians. By slow degrees, they 
accomplished their advance across the bridge, drove the 
enemy before them, and remained masters of this impor¬ 
tant pass. 



426 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


For this valiant and skillful achievement, king Ferdi¬ 
nand after the surrender of the city conferred the dignity 
of knighthood upon Francisco Ramirez, in the tower 
which he had so gloriously gained.* The worthy padre 
Fray Antonio Agapida indulges in more than a page of 
extravagant eulogy, upon this invention of blowing up the 
foundation of the tower by a piece of ordnance, which, in 
fact, is said to be the first instance on record of gunpow¬ 
der being used in a mine. 


Pulgar, pt. 3, c. 91. 


CHAPTER LXII. 


HOW THE PEOPLE OF MALAGA EXPOSTULATED WITH HAMET EL ZEGRI. 

the dervise was deluding the garrison of 
;a with vain hopes, the famine increased 
terrible degree. The Gomeres ranged 
about the city as though it had been a conquered place, 
taking by force whatever they found eatable in the 
houses of the peaceful citizens; and breaking open 
vaults and cellars, and demolishing walls, wherever they 
thought provisions might be concealed. 

The wretched inhabitants had no longer bread to eat; 
the horse-flesh also now failed them, and they were fain 
to devour skins and hides toasted at the fire, and to as¬ 
suage the hunger of their children with vine-leaves cut 
up and fried in oil. Many perished of famine, or of the 
unwholesome food with which they endeavored to relieve 
it; and many took refuge in the Christian camp, prefer¬ 
ring captivity to the horrors which surrounded them. 

At length the sufferings of the inhabitants became so 
great, as to conquer even their fears of Hamet and his 
Gomeres. They assembled before the house of Ali Dor- 
dux, the wealthy merchant, whose stately mansion was at 

427 



IHILE 

Malaj 
to a 





428 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


the foot of the Alcazaba, and they urged him to stand 
forth as their leader, and to intercede with Hamet for a 
surrender. Ali Dordux was a man of courage, as well as 
policy; he perceived also that hunger was giving bold¬ 
ness to the citizens, while he trusted it was subduing the 
fierceness of the soldiery. He armed himself, therefore, 
cap-a-pie, and undertook this dangerous parley with the 
alcayde. He associated with him an alfaqui named Abra¬ 
ham Alhariz, and an important inhabitant named Amar 
ben Amar; and they ascended to the fortress of Gibral- 
faro, followed by several of the trembling merchants. 

They found Hamet el Zegri, not as before, surrounded 
by ferocious guards and all the implements of war; but 
in a chamber of one of the lofty towers, at a table of 
stone, covered with scrolls traced with strange characters 
and mystic diagrams; while instruments of singular and 
unknown form lay about the room. Beside Hamet stood 
the prophetic dervise, who appeared to have been 
explaining to him the mysterious inscriptions of the 
scrolls. His presence filled the citizens with awe, for 
even Ali Dordux considered him a man inspired. 

The alfaqui Abraham Alhariz, whose sacred character 
gave him boldness to speak, now lifted up his voice, and 
addressed Hamet el Zegri. “ We implore thee,” said he, 
solemnly, “in the name of the most powerful God, no 
longer to persist in a vain resistance, which must end in 
our destruction, but deliver up the city while clemency 
is yet to be obtained. Think how many of our warriors 


PROTEST OF TEE PEOPLE OF MALAGA. 429 


have fallen by the sword; do not suffer those who survive 
to perish by famine. Our wives and children cry to us 
for bread, and we have none to give them. We see them 
expire in lingering agony before our eyes, while the 
enemy mocks our misery by displaying the abundance 
of his camp. Of what avail is our defense? Are our 
walls peradventure more strong than the walls of Honda ? 
Are our warriors more brave than the defenders of Loxa ? 
The walls of Honda were thrown down, and the warriors 
of Loxa had to surrender. Do we hope for succor?— 
whence are we to receive it ? The time for hope is gone 
by. Granada has lost its power; it no longer possesses 
chivalry, commanders, nor a king. Boabdil sits a vassal 
in the degraded halls of the Alhambra; El Zagal is a 
fugitive, shut up within the walls of Guadix. The king¬ 
dom is divided against itself,—its strength is gone, its 
pride fallen, its very existence at an end. In the name of 
Allah, we conjure thee, who art our captain, be not our 
direst enemy; but surrender these ruins of our once 
happy Malaga, and deliver us from these overwhelming 
horrors.” 

Such was the supplication forced from the inhabitants 
by the extremity of their sufferings. Hamet listened to 
the alfaqui without anger, for he respected the sanctity of 
his office. His heart, too, was at that moment lifted up 
with a vain confidence. “Yet a few days of patience,” 
said he, “ and all these evils will suddenly have an end, 
I have been conferring with this holy man, and find that 


430 


CONQUEST OF OB AN ABA, 


the time of our deliverance is at hand. The decrees of 
fate are inevitable; it is written in the book of destiny, 
that we shall sally forth and destroy the camp of the 
unbelievers, and banquet upon those mountains of grain 
which are piled up in the midst of it. So Allah hath 
promised, by the mouth of this his prophet. Allah Ach- 
bar! God is great. Let no man oppose the decrees of 
Heaven! ” 

The citizens bowed with profound reverence, for no 
true Moslem pretends to struggle against whatever is 
written in the book of fate. Ali Dordux, who had come 
prepared to champion the city and to brave the ire of 
Hamet, humbled himself before this holy man, and gave 
faith to his prophecies as the revelations of Allah. So 
the deputies returned to the citizens, and exhorted them 
to be of good cheer: “A few days longer,” said they, 
“ and our sufferings are to terminate. When the white 
banner is removed from the tower, then look out for 
deliverance ; for the hour of sallying forth will have ar¬ 
rived.” The people retired to their homes, with sorrow¬ 
ful hearts; they tried in vain to quiet the cries of their 
famishing children; and day by day, and hour by hour, 
their anxious eyes were turned to the sacred banner, 
which still continued to wave on the tower of Gibralfaro. 


CHAPTER LXIIL 


MOW HAMET EL ZEGRI SALLIED FORTH WITH THE SACRED BANNER, TO AT* 
TACK THE CHRISTIAN CAMP. 

H HE Moorish nigromancer,” observes the worthy 
Fray Antonio Agapida, “remained shut up in 
a tower of the Gibralfaro, devising devilish 
means to work mischief and discomfiture upon the Chris¬ 
tians. He was daily consulted by Hamet, who had great 
faith in those black and magic arts, which he had 
brought with him from the bosom of heathen Africa.” 

From the account given of this dervise and his incan¬ 
tations by the worthy father, it would appear that he was 
an astrologer, and was studying the stars, and endeavor¬ 
ing to calculate the day and hour when a successful at¬ 
tack might be made upon the Christian camp. 

Famine had now increased to such a degree as to dis¬ 
tress even the garrison of Gibralfaro, although the Go- 
meres had seized upon all the provisions they could find 
in the city. Their passions were sharpened by hunger, 
and they became restless and turbulent, and impatient 
for action. 

Hamet was one day in council with his captains, per- 

431 








432 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


plexed by the pressure of events, when the dervise en¬ 
tered among them. “The hour of victory,” exclaimed 
he, “ is at hand. Allah has commanded that to-morrow 
morning ye shall sally forth to the fight. I will bear 
before you the sacred banner, and deliver your enemies 
into your hands. Eemember, however, that ye are but 
instruments in the hands of Allah, to take vengeance on 
the enemies of the faith. Go into battle, therefore, with 
pure hearts, forgiving each other all past offenses; for 
those who are charitable towards each other, will be 
victorious over the foe.” The words of the dervise were 
received with rapture; all Gibralfaro and the Alcazaba 
resounded immediately with the din of arms; and Hamet 
sent throughout the towers and fortifications of the city 
and selected the choicest troops and most distinguished 
captains for this eventful combat. 

In the morning early, the rumor went throughout 
the city that the sacred banner had disappeared from 
the tower of Gibralfaro, and all Malaga was roused to 
witness the sally that was to destroy the unbelievers. 
Hamet descended from his stronghold, accompanied by 
his principal captain, Ibrahim Zenete, and followed by 
his Gomeres. The dervise led the way, displaying the 
white banner, the sacred pledge of victory. The multi¬ 
tude shouted “Allah Achbar!” and prostrated them¬ 
selves before the banner as it passed. Even the dreaded 
Hamet was hailed with praises; for in their hopes of 
speedy relief through the prowess of his arm, the popu- 


SALLY AGAINST TEE CHRISTIAN CAMP. 433 


lace forgot everything but his bravery. Every bosom 
in Malaga was agitated by hope and fear—the old men, 
the women and children, and all who went not forth to 
battle, mounted on tower and battlement and roof, to 
watch a combat that was to decide their fate. 

Before sallying forth from the city, the dervise ad¬ 
dressed the troops, reminding them of the holy nature 
of this enterprise, and warning them not to forfeit the 
protection of the sacred banner by any unworthy act. 
They were not to pause to make spoil nor to take prison¬ 
ers: they were to press forward, fighting valiantly, and 
granting no quarter. The gate was then thrown open, 
and the dervise issued forth, followed by the army. 
They directed their assaults upon the encampments 
of the master of Santiago and the master of Alcantara, 
and came upon them so suddenly that they killed and 
wounded several of the guards. Ibrahim Zenete made 
his way into one of the tents, where he beheld sev¬ 
eral Christian striplings just starting from their slum¬ 
ber. The heart of the Moor was suddenly touched with 
pity for their youth, or perhaps he scorned the weakness 
of the foe. He smote them with the flat instead of the 
edge of the sword. “Away, imps,” cried he, “away to 
your mothers.” The fanatic dervise reproached him 
with his clemency. “I did not kill them,” replied Ze¬ 
nete, “ because I saw no beards! ” * 


28 


Cura de los Palacios, cap. 84. 


434 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


The alarm was given in the camp, and the Christians 
rushed from all quarters to defend the gates of the bul¬ 
warks. Don Pedro Puerto Carrero, senior of Moguer, 
and his brother Don Alonzo Pacheco, planted them¬ 
selves, with their followers, in the gateway of the en¬ 
campment of the master of Santiago, and bore the whole 
brunt of battle until they were reinforced. The gate of 
the encampment of the master of Calatrava was in like 
manner defended by Lorenzo Saurez de Mendoza. Ha- 
met was furious at being thus checked, where he had 
expected a miraculous victory. He led his troops re¬ 
peatedly to the attack, hoping to force the gates before 
succor should arrive: they fought with vehement ardor, 
but were as often repulsed; and every time they re¬ 
turned to the assault, they found their enemies doubled 
in number. The Christians opened a cross-fire of all 
kinds of missiles, from their bulwarks; the Moors could 
effect but little damage upon a foe thus protected behind 
their works, while they themselves were exposed from 
head to foot. The Christians singled out the most con¬ 
spicuous cavaliers, the greater part of whom were either 
slain or wounded. Still the Moors, infatuated by the 
predictions of the prophet, fought desperately and de¬ 
votedly, and they were furious to revenge the slaughter of 
their leaders. They rushed upon certain death, endeav¬ 
oring madly to scale the bulwarks or force the gates, and 
fell amidst showers of darts and lances, filling the ditches 
with their mangled bodies. 


DESPERATE ATTACK AND REPULSE. 435 

Hamet el Zegri raged along the front of the bulwarks, 
seeking an opening for attack. He gnashed his teeth 
with fury, as he saw so many of his chosen warriors slain 
around him. He seemed to have a charmed life; for, 
though constantly in the hottest of the fight, amidst 
showers of missiles, he still escaped uninjured. Blindly 
confiding in the prophecy of victory, he continued to 
urge on his devoted troops. The dervise, too, ran like a 
maniac through the ranks, waving his white banner, and 
inciting the Moors by bowlings rather than by shouts. 
“Fear not! the victory is ours! for so it is written!” 
cried he. In the midst of his frenzy, a stone from a cata¬ 
pult struck him in the head, and dashed out his bewil¬ 
dered brains.* 

When the Moors beheld their prophet slain, and his 
banner in the dust, they were seized with despair, and 
fled in confusion to the city. Hamet el Zegri made some 
effort to rally them, but was himself confounded by the 
fall of the dervise. He covered the flight of his broken 
forces, turning repeatedly upon their pursuers, and slow¬ 
ly making his retreat into the city. 

The inhabitants of Malaga witnessed from their walls, 
with trembling anxiety, the whole of this disastrous con¬ 
flict. At the first onset, when they beheld the guards of 
the camp put to flight, they exclaimed, “ Allah has given 
us the victory ! ” and they sent up shouts of triumph. 


Garibay, lib. 18, c. 33. 


436 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


Their exultation, however, was soon turned into doubt, 
when they beheld their troops repulsed in repeated at¬ 
tacks. They could see, from time to time, some dis¬ 
tinguished warrior laid low, and others brought back 
bleeding to the city. When at length the sacred banner 
fell, and the routed troops came flying to the gates, pur¬ 
sued and cut down by the foe, horror and despair seized 
upon the populace. 

As Hamet entered the gates, he heard nothing but 
loud lamentations; mothers, whose sons had been slain, 
shrieked curses after him as he passed; some, in the an¬ 
guish of their hearts, threw down their famishing babes 
before him, exclaiming, “ Trample on them with thy 
horse’s feet; for we have no food to give them, and we 
cannot endure their cries.” All heaped execrations on 
his head, as the cause of the woes of Malaga. 

The warlike part of the citizens, also, and many war¬ 
riors, who, with their wives and children, had taken 
refuge in Malaga from the mountain fortresses, now 
joined in the popular clamor, for their hearts were over¬ 
come by the sufferings of their families. 

Hamet el Zegri found it impossible to withstand this tor¬ 
rent of lamentations, curses, and reproaches. His military 
ascendency was at an end; for most of his officers, and the 
prime warriors of his African band, had fallen in this dis¬ 
astrous sally. Turning his back, therefore, upon the city, 
and abandoning it to its own councils, he retired with the 
remnant of his Gomeres to his stronghold in the Gibralfara 


CHAPTER LXIY. 


HOW THE CITY OP MALAGA CAPITULATED. 

people of Malaga, being no longer overawed 
Hamet el Zegri and his Gomeres, turned to 
i Dordux, the magnanimous merchant, and 
put the fate of the city into his hands. He had already 
gained the alcaydes of the castle of the Genoese and of 
the citadel into his party, and in the late confusion had 
gained the sway over those important fortresses. He 
now associated himself with the alfaqui, Abraham Alha- 
riz, and four of the principal inhabitants, and, forming a 
provisional junta, they sent heralds to the Christian 
sovereigns, offering to surrender the city on certain 
terms, protecting the persons and property of the inhabi¬ 
tants, permitting them to reside as Mudexares or tribu¬ 
tary vassals either in Malaga or elsewhere. 

When the heralds arrived at the camp, and made 
known their mission to King Ferdinand, his anger was 
kindled. “ Keturn to your fellow-citizens,” said he, 
“ and tell them that the day of grace is gone by. They 
have persisted in a fruitless defense until they are driven 
by necessity to capitulate ; they must surrender uncondi- 

437 










438 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


tionally, and abide the fate of the vanquished. Those 
who merit death shall suffer death; those who merit 
captivity shall be made captives.” 

This stern reply spread consternation among the peo¬ 
ple of Malaga; but Ali Dordux comforted them, and 
undertook to go in person, and pray for favorable terms. 
When the people beheld this great and wealthy mer¬ 
chant, who was so eminent in their city, departing with 
his associates on this mission, they plucked up heart; 
for they said, “ Surely the Christian king will not turn a 
deaf ear to such a man as Ali Dordux! ” 

Ferdinand, however, would not even admit the ambas¬ 
sadors to his presence. “ Send them to the devil! ” said 
he, in a great passion, to the commander of Leon; “ I’ll 
not see them. Let them get back to their city. They 
shall all surrender to my mercy, as vanquished ene¬ 
mies.” * 

To give emphasis to this reply, he ordered a general 
discharge from all the artillery and batteries; and there 
was a great shout throughout the camp, and all the lom¬ 
bards and catapults, and other engines of war, thundered 
furiously upon the city, doing great damage. 

Ali Dordux and his companions returned to the city 
with downcast countenances, and could scarce make the 
reply of the Christian sovereign be heard, for the roaring 
9f the artillery, the tumbling of the walls, and the cries 


* Cura d* los- c»p. 84. 


PROPOSITIONS FOR SURRENDER. 


439 


of women and children. The citizens were greatly aston¬ 
ished and dismayed, when they found the little respect 
paid to their most eminent man; but the warriors who 
were in the city exclaimed, “ What has this merchant to 
do with questions between men of battle? Let us not 
address the enemy as abject suppliants who have no 
power to injure, but as valiant men, who have weapons 
in their hands.” 

So they dispatched another message to the Christian 
sovereigns, offering to yield up the city and all their 
effects, on condition of being secured in their personal 
liberty. Should this be denied, they declared they 
would hang from the battlements fifteen hundred Chris¬ 
tian captives, male and female; that they would put all 
their old men, their women, and children into the citadel, 
set fire to the city, and sally forth, sword in hand, to 
fight until the last gasp. “ In this way,” said they, “ the 
Spanish sovereigns shall gain a bloody victory, and the 
fall of Malaga be renowned while the world endures.” 

To this fierce and swelling message, Ferdinand replied, 
that if a single Christian captive were injured, not a 
Moor in Malaga but should be put to the edge of the 
sword. 

A great conflict of counsels now arose in Malaga. The 
warriors were for following up their menace by some 
desperate act of vengeance or of self-devotion. Those 
who had families looked with anguish upon their wives 
and daughters, and thought it better to die than to live 


440 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


to see them captives. By degrees, however, the trans¬ 
ports of passion and despair subsided, the love of life 
resumed its sway, and they turned once more to Ali Dor- 
dux, as the man most prudent in council and able in 
negotiation. By his advice, fourteen of the principal 
inhabitants were chosen from the fourteen districts of 
the city, and sent to the camp, bearing a long letter, 
couched in terms of the most humble supplication. 

Various debates now took place in the Christian camp. 
Many of the cavaliers were exasperated against Malaga 
for its long resistance, which had caused the death of 
many of their relatives and favorite companions. It had 
long been a stronghold, also, for Moorish depredators, 
and the mart where most of the warriors captured in the 
Axarquia had been exposed in triumph and sold to sla¬ 
very. They represented, moreover, that there were many 
Moorish cities yet to be besieged; and that an example 
ought to be made of Malaga, to prevent all obstinate re¬ 
sistance thereafter. They advised, therefore, that all the 
inhabitants should be put to the sword.* 

The humane heart of Isabella revolted at such san¬ 
guinary counsels : she insisted that their triumph should 
not be disgraced by cruelty. Ferdinand, however, was 
inflexible in refusing to grant any preliminary terms, in¬ 
sisting on an unconditional surrender. 

The people of Malaga now abandoned themselves to 


* Pulgar. 


THE COUNSEL OF ALL DORDUX. 


441 


paroxysms of despair; on one side they saw famine and 
death, on the other slavery and chains. The mere men 
of the sword, who had no families to protect, were loud 
for signalizing their fall by some illustrious action. “ Let 
us sacrifice our Christian captives, and then destroy our¬ 
selves,” cried some. “Let us put all the women and 
children to death, set fire to the city, fall on the Chris¬ 
tian camp, and die sword in hand,” cried others. 

Ali Dordux gradually made his voice be heard amidst 
the general clamor. He addressed himself to the princi¬ 
pal inhabitants, and to those who had children. “ Let 
those who live by the sword, die by the sword,” cried 
he; “ but let us not follow their desperate counsels. 
Who knows what sparks of pity may be awakened in the 
bosoms of the Christian sovereigns, when they behold 
our unoffending wives and daughters, and our helpless 
little ones! The Christian queen, they say, is full of 
mercy! ” 

At these words, the hearts of the unhappy people of 
Malaga yearned over their families, and they empowered 
Ali Dordux to deliver up their city to the mercy of the 
Castilian sovereigns. 

The merchant now went to and fro, and had several 
communications with Ferdinand and Isabella and inter¬ 
ested several principal cavaliers in his cause; and he 
sent rich presents to the king and queen, of oriental mer¬ 
chandise, and silks and stuffs of gold, and jewels and 
precious stones, and spices and perfumes, and many 


442 


CONQUEST OF ORAN ABA. 


other sumptuous things, which he had accumulated in 
his great tradings with the East; and he gradually found 
favor in the eyes of the sovereigns.* Finding that there 
was nothing to be obtained for the city, he now, like a 
prudent man and able merchant, began to negotiate for 
himself and his immediate friends. He represented that 
from the first they had been desirous of yielding up the 
city, but had been prevented by warlike and high-handed 
men, who had threatened their lives; he entreated, there* 
fore, that mercy might be extended to them, and that 
they might not be confounded with the guilty. 

The sovereigns had accepted the presents of Ali Dor- 
dux—how could they then turn a deaf ear to his petition? 
So they granted a pardon to him, and to forty families 
which he named; and it was agreed that they should be 
protected in their liberties and property, and permitted 
to reside in Malaga as Mudexares or Moslem vassals, and 
to follow their customary pursuits, t All this being ar¬ 
ranged, Ali Dor dux delivered up twenty of the principal 
inhabitants, to remain as hostages, until the whole city 
should be placed in the possession of the Christians. 

Don Gutierrez de Cardenas, senior commander of Leon, 
now entered the city, armed cap-a-pie, on horseback, and 
took possession in the name of the Castilian sovereigns. 
He was followed by his retainers, and by the captains 
and cavaliers of the army ; and in a little while, the stand- 


* MS. Chron. of Valera. 


t Cura de los Palacios, cap. 84. 


REJOICINGS OF THE CHRISTIANS. 


443 


ards of the cross and of the blessed Santiago, and of the 
Catholic sovereigns, were elevated on the principal tower 
of the Alcazaba. When these standards were beheld 
from the camp, the queen and the princess and the ladies 
of the court, and all the royal retinue, knelt down and 
gave thanks and praises to the holy virgin and to Santi¬ 
ago, for this great triumph of the faith ; and the bishops 
and other clergy who were present, and the choristers of 
the royal chapel, chanted “ Te Bourn Laudamus and 
“ Gloria in Excdsis 


CHAPTER LXV. 


FULFILLMENT OF THE PROPHECY OF THE DERVISE.—FATE OF HAMET Eli 
ZEGRI. 

O sooner was the city delivered up, than the 
wretched inhabitants implored permission to 
purchase bread for themselves and their chil¬ 
dren, from the heaps of grain which they had so often 
gazed at wistfully from their walls. Their prayer was 
granted, and they issued forth with the famished eager¬ 
ness of starving men. It was piteous to behold the 
struggles of those unhappy people, as they contended 
who first should have their necessities relieved. 

“ Thus,” says the pious Fray Antonio Agapida, “ thus 
are the predictions of false prophets sometimes permit¬ 
ted to be verified, but always to the confusion of those 
who trust in them : for the words of the Moorish nigro- 
mancer came to pass, that the people of Malaga should 
feat of those heaps of bread ; but they ate in humiliation 
and defeat, and with sorrow and bitterness of heart.” 

Dark and fierce were the feelings of Hamet el Zegri, as 
he looked down from the castle of Gibralfaro, and beheld 
the Christian legions pouring into the city, and the stand- 





BE SOLUTION OF EL ZEGBI. 


445 


ard of the cross supplanting the crescent on the citadel. 
“ The people of Malaga,” said he, “ have trusted to a 
man of trade, and he has trafficked them away; but let 
us not suffer ourselves to be bound hand and foot, and 
delivered up as part of his bargain. We have yet strong 
walls around us, and trusty weapons in our hands. Let 
us fight until buried beneath the last tumbling tower of 
Gibralfaro, or, rushing down from among its ruins, carry 
havoc among the unbelievers, as they throng the streets 
of Malaga! ” 

The fierceness of the Gomeres, however, was broken. 
They could have died in the breach, had their castle 
been assailed ; but the slow advances of famine subdued 
their strength without rousing their passions, and sapped 
the force both of soul and body. They were almost 
unanimous for a surrender. 

It was a hard struggle for the proud spirit of Hamet 
to bow itself to ask for terms. Still he trusted that the 
valor of his defense would gain him respect in the eyes 
of a chivalrous foe. “ Ali,” said he, “ has negotiated like 
a merchant; I will capitulate as a soldier.” He sent a 
herald, therefore, to Ferdinand, offering to yield up his 
castle, but demanding a separate treaty.* The Castilian 
sovereign made a laconic and stern reply : “ He shall re¬ 
ceive no terms but such as have been granted to the 
community of Malaga.” 


* Cura de los Palacios , cap. 84. 


446 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


For two days Hamet el Zegri remained brooding in his 
castle, after the city was in possession of the Christians , 
at length, the clamors of his followers compelled him to 
surrender. When the remnant of this fierce African gar¬ 
rison descended from their cragged fortress, they were 
so worn by watchfulness, famine, and battle, yet carried 
such a lurking fury in their eyes, that they looked more 
like fiends than men. They were all condemned to sla¬ 
very, excepting Ibrahim Zenete. The instance of clem¬ 
ency which he had shown in refraining to harm the 
Spanish striplings, on the last sally from Malaga, won 
him favorable terms. It was cited as a magnanimous act 
by the Spanish cavaliers, and all admitted, that though a 
Moor in blood, he possessed the Christian heart of a Cas¬ 
tilian hidalgo.* 

As to Hamet el Zegri, on being asked what moved 
him to such hardened obstinacy, he replied, “When I 
undertook my command, I pledged myself to fight in 
defense of my faith, my city, and my sovereign, until slain 
or made prisoner; and depend upon it, had I had men 
to stand by me, I should have died fighting, instead of 
thus tamely surrendering myself without a weapon in my 
hand.” 

“ Such,” says the pious Fray Antonio Agapida, “ was 
the diabolical hatred and stiff-necked opposition of this 
infidel to our holy cause. But he was justly served by 


* Cura de los Palacios, cap. 84. 


FATE OF EAMET EL ZEGRI. 


447 


our most Catholic and high-minded sovereign, for his 
pertinacious defense of the city; for Ferdinand ordered 
that he should be loaded with chains and thrown into a 
dungeon.” He was subsequently retained in rigorous 
confinement at Carmona.* 

* Pulgar, pt. 3, cap. 93. Pietro Martyr, lib. 1, cap. 69. Alcantara, 
But. Granada, vol. 4, c. 18. 


CHAPTER LXVL 


HOW THE CASTILIAN SOVEREIGNS TOOK POSSESSION OF THE CITY OF MALAGA, 
AND HOW KING FERDINAND SIGNALIZED HIMSELF BY HIS SKILL IN BAR¬ 
GAINING WITH THE INHABITANTS FOR THEIR RANSOM. 



NE of the first cares of the conquerors, on enter¬ 
ing Malaga, was to search for Christian captives. 
Nearly sixteen hundred men and women were 
found, and among them were persons of distinction. 
Some of them had been ten, fifteen, and twenty years in 
captivity. Many had been servants to the Moors, or 
laborers on public works, and some had passed their 
time in chains and dungeons. Preparations were made 
to celebrate their deliverance as a Christian triumph. A 
tent was erected not far from the city, and furnished with 
an altar and all the solemn decorations of a chapel. 
Here the king and queen waited to receive the Christian 
captives. They were assembled in the city, and mar¬ 
shaled forth in piteous procession. Many of them had 
still the chains and shackles on their legs; they were 
wasted with famine, their hair and beards overgrown 
and matted, and their faces pale and haggard from long 
confinement. When they found themselves restored to 

448 









RELEASE OF CHRISTIAN CAPTIVES 


449 


liberty, and surrounded by their countrymen, some stared 
wildly about as if in a dream, others gave way to frantic 
transports, but most of them wept for joy. All present 
were moved to tears, by so touching a spectacle. When 
the procession arrived at what is called the Gate of 
Granada, it was met by a great concourse from the camp, 
with crosses and pennons, who turned and followed 
the captives, singing hymns of praise and thanksgiving. 
When they came in presence of the king and queen, 
they threw themselves on their knees and would have 
kissed their feet, as their saviors and deliverers; but the 
sovereigns prevented such humiliation, and graciously 
extended to them their hands. They then prostrated 
themselves before the altar, and all present joined them 
in giving thanks to God for their liberation from this 
cruel bondage. By orders of the king and queen, their 
chains were then taken off, and they were clad in decent 
raiment, and food was set before them. After they had 
ate and drunk, and were refreshed and invigorated, they 
were provided with money and all things necessary for 
their journey, and sent joyfully to their homes. 

While the old chroniclers dwell with becoming enthu¬ 
siasm on this pure and affecting triumph of humanity, 
they go on, in a strain of equal eulogy, to describe a spec¬ 
tacle of a far different nature. It so happened, that 
there were found in the city twelve of those renegado 
Christians who had deserted to the Moors, and conveyed 
false intelligence, during the siege: a barbarous species 
29 


450 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA . 


of punishment was inflicted upon them, borrowed, it is 
said, from the Moors, and peculiar to these wars. They 
were tied to stakes in a public place, and horsemen ex¬ 
ercised their skill in transpiercing them with pointed 
reeds, hurled at them while careering at full speed, until 
the miserable victims expired beneath their wounds. 
Several apostate Moors, also, who, having embraced 
Christianity, had afterwards relapsed into their early 
faith, and had taken refuge in Malaga from the vengeance 
of the Inquisition, were publicly burnt. “ These,” says 
an old Jesuit historian, exultingly, “ these were the tilts 
of reeds and the illuminations most pleasing for this 
victorious festival, and for the Catholic piety of our sov¬ 
ereigns ! ” * 

When the city was cleansed from the impurities and 
offensive odors which had collected during the siege, the 
bishops and other clergy who accompanied the court, 
and the choir of the royal chapel, walked in procession 
to the principal mosque, which was consecrated, and 
entitled Santa Maria de la Incarnacion. This done, the 
king and queen entered the city, accompanied by the 
grand cardinal of Spain, and the principal nobles and 
cavaliers of the army, and heard a solemn mass. The 
church was then elevated into a cathedral, and Malaga 
was made a bishopric, and many of the neighboring 

* “Los renegados fuernon acanavareados : y los con versos quemados ; 
y estos fueron las canas, y luminarias mas alegres, por la fiesta de la 
vitoria para la piedad Catliolica do nuestros Reyes. ”—Abarca, Anales de 
Aragon, tom. 2, Rey xxx., c. 3. 


DISPOSITION OF THE PRISONERS. 


451 


towns were comprehended in its diocese. The queen 
took up her residence in the Alcazaba, in the apartments 
of her valiant treasurer, Ruy Lopez, whence she had a 
view of the whole city; but the king established his 
quarters in the warrior castle of Gibralfaro. 

And now came to be considered the disposition of the 
Moorish prisoners. All those who were strangers in the 
city, and had either taken refuge there, or had entered to 
defend it, were at once considered slaves. They were 
divided into three lots: one was set apart for the service 
of God, in redeeming Christian captives from bondage, 
either in the kingdom of Granada or in Africa; the sec¬ 
ond lot was divided among those who had aided either in 
field or cabinet, in the present siege, according to their 
rank ; the third was appropriated to defray, by their 
sale, the great expenses incurred in the-reduction of the 
place. A hundred of the Gomeres were sent as presents 
to Pope Innocent YIII., and were led in triumph through 
the streets of Rome, and afterwards converted to Chris¬ 
tianity. Fifty Moorish maidens were sent to the queen 
Joanna of Naples, sister to king Ferdinand, and thirty to 
the queen of Portugal. Isabella made presents of others 
to the ladies of her household, and of the noble families 
of Spain. 

Among the inhabitants of Malaga were four hundred 
and fifty Moorish Jews, for the most part women, speak¬ 
ing the Arabic language, and dressed in the Moresco 
fashion. These were ransomed by a wealthy Jew of Cas- 


452 


CONQUEST OF OB AN AD A. 


tile, farmer-general of the royal revenues derived from 
the Jews of Spain. He agreed to make up, within a 
certain time, the sum of twenty thousand doblas, or pis¬ 
toles of gold; all the money and jewels of the captives 
being taken in part payment. They were sent to Castile, 
in two armed galleys. As to Ali Dordux, such favors 
and honors were heaped upon him by the Spanish sov¬ 
ereigns for his considerate mediation in the surrender, 
that the disinterestedness of his conduct has often been 
called in question. He was appointed chief justice and 
alcayde of the Mudaxares or Moorish subjects, and was 
presented with twenty houses, one public bakery, and 
several orchards, vineyards, and tracts of open country. 
He retired to Antiquera, where he died several years 
afterwards, leaving his estate and name to his son Mo¬ 
hammed Dordux. The latter embraced the Christian 
faith, as did his wife, the daughter of a Moorish noble. 
On being baptized he received the name of Don Fer¬ 
nando de Malaga, his wife that of Isabella, after the 
queen. They were incorporated with the nobility of 
Castile, and their descendants still bear the name of 
Malaga.* 

As to the great mass of Moorish inhabitants, they im¬ 
plored that they might not be scattered and sold into 
captivity, but might be permitted to ransom themselves 
by an amount paid within a certain time. Upon this, 

* Conversaciones Malagueflas, 26, as cited by Alcantara in his History 
of Granada, vol. 4, c. 18. 


HARD CONDITIONS. 


453 


king Ferdinand took the advice of certain of his ablest 
counselors: they said to him, “ If you hold out a pros¬ 
pect of hopeless captivity, the infidels will throw all their 
gold and jewels into wells and pits, and you will lose the 
greater part of the spoil; but if you fix a general rate of 
ransom, and receive their money and jewels in part 
payment, nothing will be destroyed.” The king relished 
greatly this advice ; and it was arranged that all the 
inhabitants should be ransomed at the general rate of 
thirty doblas or pistoles in gold for each individual, male 
or female, large or small; that all their gold, jewels, and 
other valuables, should be received immediately in part 
payment of the general amount, and that the residue 
should be paid within eight months; that if any of the 
number, actually living, should die in the interim, their 
ransom should nevertheless be paid. If, however, the 
whole of the amount were not paid at the expiration of 
the eight months, they should all be considered and 
treated as slaves. 

The unfortunate Moors were eager to catch at the 
least hope of future liberty, and consented to these hard 
conditions. The most rigorous precautions were taken 
to exact them to the uttermost. The inhabitants were 
numbered by houses and families, and their names taken 
down; their most precious effects were made up into 
parcels, and sealed and inscribed with their names; and 
they were ordered to repair with them to certain large 
corrales or inclosures adjoining the Alcazaba, which were 


454 


CONQUEST OF OB AN AD A. 


surrounded by high walls and overlooked by watch- 
towers, to which places the cavalgadas of Christian cap¬ 
tives had usually been driven, to be confined until the 
time of sale, like cattle in a market. The Moors were 
obliged to leave their houses one by one; all their 
money, necklaces, bracelets, and anklets of gold, pearl, 
coral, and precious stones, were taken from them at the 
threshold, and their persons so rigorously searched that 
they carried off nothing concealed. 

Then might be seen old men and helpless women, and 
tender maidens, some of high birth and gentle condition, 
passing through the streets, heavily burdened, towards 
the Alcazaba. As they left their homes, they smote 
their breasts, and wrung their hands, and raised their 
weeping eyes to Heaven in anguish; and this is recorded 
as their plaint: “O Malaga! city so renowned and beau¬ 
tiful ! where now is the strength of thy castle, where the 
grandeur of thy towers? Of what avail have been thy 
mighty walls, for the protection of thy children! Be¬ 
hold them driven from thy pleasant abodes, doomed to 
drag out a life of bondage in a foreign land, and to die 
far from the home of their infancy! What will become 
of thy old men and matrons, when their gray hairs shall 
be no longer reverenced? What will become of thy 
maidens, so delicately reared and tenderly cherished, 
when reduced to hard and menial servitude? Behold, 
thy once happy families scattered asunder, never again 
to be united; sons separated from their fathers, husbands 


FINAL DISPOSITION OF THE PRISONERS. 455 


from their wives, and tender children from their moth¬ 
ers: they will bewail each other in foreign lands, but 
their lamentations will be the scoff of the stranger. 0 
Malaga! city of our birth! who can behold thy desola¬ 
tion, and not shed tears of bitterness! ” * 

When Malaga was completely secured, a detachment 
was sent against two fortresses near the sea, called Mixas 
and Osuna, which had frequently harassed the Christian 
camp. The inhabitants were threatened with the sword, 
unless they instantly surrendered. They claimed the 
same terms that had been granted to Malaga, imagining 
them to be freedom of person and security of prop¬ 
erty. Their claim was granted; they were transported 
to Malaga with all their riches, and, on arriving there, 
were overwhelmed with consternation at finding them¬ 
selves captives. “ Ferdinand,” observes Fray Antonio 
Agapida, “ was a man of his word; they were shut up in 
the inclosure at the Alcazaba, with the people of Malaga, 
and shared their fate.” 

The unhappy captives remained thus crowded in the 
court-yards of the Alcazaba, like sheep in a fold, until 
they could be sent by sea and land to Seville. They 
were then distributed about in city and country, each 
Christian family having one or more to feed and maintain 
as servants, until the term fixed for the payment of the 
residue of the ransom should expire. The captives had 


* Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, c. 93. 



456 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


obtained permission that several of their number should 
go about among the Moorish towns of the kingdom of 
Granada, collecting contributions to aid in the purchase 
of their liberties; but these towns were too much impov¬ 
erished by the war, and engrossed by their own distresses, 
to lend a listening ear: so the time expired without the 
residue of the ransom being paid, and all the captives of 
Malaga, to the number, as some say, of eleven, and others 
of fifteen thousand, became slaves ! “ Never,” exclaims 

the worthy Fray Antonio Agapida, in one of his usual 
bursts of zeal and loyalty, “never has there been re¬ 
corded a more adroit and sagacious arrangement than 
this made by the Catholic monarch, by which he not only 
secured all the property and half of the ransom of these 
infidels, but finally got possession of their persons into 
the bargain. This truly may be considered one of the 
greatest triumphs of the pious and politic Ferdinand, 
and as raising him above the*generality of conquerors, 
who have merely the valor to gain victories, but lack the 
prudence and management necessary to turn them to 
account.* 

* The detestable policy of Ferdinand in regard to the Moorish captives 
of Malaga is recorded at length by the curate of los Palacios (c. 87), a 
contemporary, a zealous admirer of the king, and one of the most honest 
of chroniclers; who really thought he was recording a notable instance 
of sagacious piety. 


CHAPTER LXVH 



HOW KING FERDINAND PREPARED TO CARRY THE WAR INTO A DIFFERENT 
PART OF THE TERRITORIES OF THE MOORS. 

p||HE western part of the kingdom of Granada had 
now been conquered by the Christian arms. 
The seaport of Malaga was captured; the fierce 
and warlike inhabitants of the Serrania de Ronda, and 
the other mountain-holds of the frontier, were all dis¬ 
armed, and reduced to peaceful and laborious vassalage ; 
their haughty fortresses, which had so long overawed 
the valleys of Andalusia, now displayed the standard of 
Castile and Aragon; the watch-towers, which crowned 
every height, whence the infidels had kept a vulture 
eye over the Christian territories, were now either dis¬ 
mantled, or garrisoned with Catholic troops. “What 
signalized and sanctified this great triumph,” adds the 
worthy Fray Antonio Agapida, “were the emblems of 
ecclesiastical domination which everywhere appeared. 
In every direction rose stately convents and monasteries, 
those fortresses of the faith, garrisoned by its spiritual 
soldiery of monks and friars. The sacred melody of 
Christian bells was again heard among the mountains, 

457 








458 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


calling to early matins, or sounding the Angeles at the 
solemn hour of evening.” * 

While this part of the kingdom was thus reduced by 
the Christian sword, the central part, round the city of 
Granada, forming the heart of the Moorish territory, was 
held in vassalage of the Castilian monarch, by Boabdil 
surnamed el Chico. That unfortunate prince lost no 
occasion to propitiate the conquerors of his country by 
acts of homage, and by professions that must have been 
foreign to his heart. No sooner had he heard of the 
capture of Malaga, than he sent congratulations to the 
Catholic sovereigns, accompanied with presents of horses 
richly caparisoned for the king, and precious cloth of 
gold and oriental perfumes for the queen. His congratu^ 
lations and his presents were received with the utmost 
graciousness; and the short-sighted prince, lulled by the 
temporary and politic forbearance of Ferdinand, flattered 
himself that he was securing the lasting friendship of 
that monarch. 

The policy of Boabdil had its transient and superficial 
advantages. The portion of Moorish territory under his 
immediate sway had a respite from the calamities of war: 
the husbandmen cultivated their luxuriant fields in secur¬ 
ity, and the vega of Granada once more blossomed like 
the rose. The merchants again carried on a gainful traf- 

* The worthy curate of los Palacios intimates in his Chronicle, that 
this melody, so grateful to the ears of pious Christians, was a source of 
perpetual torment to the ears of infidels. 


EL ZAGAL’S TERRITORIES. 


459 


fie; the gates of the city were thronged with beasts of bur¬ 
den, bringing the rich products of every clime. Yet, while 
the people of Granada rejoiced in their teeming fields and 
crowded marts, they secretly despised the policy which 
procured them these advantages, and held Boabdil for 
little better than an apostate and an unbeliever. Muley 
Abdallah el Zagal was now the hope of the unconquered 
part of the kingdom; and every Moor, whose spirit was 
not quite subdued with his fortunes, lauded the valor of 
the old monarch, and his fidelity to the faith, and wished 
success to his standard. 

El Zagal, though he no longer sat enthroned in the 
Alhambra, yet reigned over more considerable domains 
than his nephew. His territories extended from the 
frontiers of Jaen along the borders of Murcia to the 
Mediterranean, and reached into the centre of the king¬ 
dom. On the northeast he held the cities of Baza and 
Guadix, situated in the midst of fertile regions. He had 
the important seaport of Almeria, also, which at one 
time rivaled Granada itself in wealth and population. 
Besides these, his territories included a great part of the 
Alpuxarra mountains, which extend across the kingdom 
and shoot out branches towards the sea-coast. This 
mountainous region was a stronghold of wealth and 
power. Its stern and rocky heights, rising to the clouds, 
seemed to set invasion at defiance ; yet within their rug¬ 
ged embraces were sheltered delightful valleys, of the 
happiest temperature and richest fertility. The cool 


460 


CONQUEST OF OBAN AD A. 


springs and limpid rills which gushed out in all parts of 
the mountains, and the abundant streams, which, for a 
great part of the year, were supplied by the Sierra Ne¬ 
vada, spread a perpetual verdure over the skirts and 
slopes of the hills, and, collecting in silver rivers in the 
valleys, wound along among plantations of mulberry 
trees, and groves of oranges and citrons, of almonds, figs, 
and pomegranates. Here was produced the finest silk of 
Spain, which gave employment to thousands of manufac¬ 
turers. The sunburnt sides of the hills, also, were cov¬ 
ered with vineyards ; the abundant herbage of the moun¬ 
tain ravines, and the rich pasturage of the valleys, fed 
vast flocks and herds; and even the arid and rocky 
bosoms of the heights teemed with wealth, from the 
mines of various metals with which they were impreg¬ 
nated. In a word, the Alpuxarra mountains had ever 
been the great source of revenue to the monarchs of Gra¬ 
nada. Their inhabitants, also, were hardy and warlike, 
and a sudden summons from the Moorish king could at 
any time call forth fifty thousand fighting men from their 
rocky fastnesses. 

Such was the rich but rugged fragment of an empire 
which remained under the sway of the old warrior mon¬ 
arch El Zagal. The mountain barriers by which it was 
locked up, had protected it from most of the ravages of 
the present war. El Zagal prepared himself, by strength¬ 
ening every fortress, to battle fiercely for its maintenance. 

The Catholic sovereigns saw that fresh troubles and 


PUNISHMENT OF JUDAISM. 


461 


toils awaited them. The war had to be carried into a 
new quarter demanding immense expenditures ; and new 
ways and means must be devised to replenish their ex¬ 
hausted coffers. “As this was a holy war, however,” 
says Fray Antonio Agapida, “ and peculiarly redounded to 
the prosperity of the church, the clergy were full of zeal, 
and contributed vast sums of money and large bodies 
of troops. A pious fund was also produced, from the 
first fruits of that glorious institution, the Inquisition.” 

It so happened, that about this time there were many 
families of wealth and dignity in the kingdoms of Ara¬ 
gon and Yalentia, and the principality of Catalonia, whose 
forefathers had been Jews, but had been converted to 
Christianity. Notwithstanding the outward piety of 
these families, it was surmised, and soon came to be 
strongly suspected, that many of them had a secret 
hankering after Judaism; and it was even whispered, 
that some of them practiced Jewish rites in private. 

The Catholic monarch (continues Agapida) had a 
righteous abhorrence of all kinds of heresy, and a fer¬ 
vent zeal for the faith: he ordered, therefore, a strict 
investigation of the conduct of these pseudo Christians. 
Inquisitions were sent into these provinces for the pur¬ 
pose, who proceeded with their accustomed zeal. The 
consequence was, that many families were convicted of 
apostacy from the Christian faith, and of the private 
practice of Judaism. Some, who had grace and policy 
sufficient to reform in time, were again received into the 


462 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


Christian fold, after being severely mulcted and con¬ 
demned to heavy penance ; others were burnt at auto de 
feSy for the edification of the public, and their property 
was confiscated for the good of the state. 

As these Hebrews were of great wealth, and had an 
hereditary passion for jewelry, there was found abundant 
store in their possession of gold and silver, of rings and 
necklaces, and strings of pearl and coral, and precious 
stones:—treasures easy of transportation, and wonder¬ 
fully adapted for the emergencies of war. “ In this 
way,” concludes the pious Agapida, “these backsliders, 
by the all-seeing contrivances of Providence, were made 
to serve the righteous cause which they had so treacher¬ 
ously deserted; and their apostate wealth was sanctified 
by being devoted to the service of Heaven and the 
crown, in this holy crusade against the infidels.” 

It must be added, however, that these pious financial 
expedients received some check from the interference of 
queen Isabella. Her penetrating eyes discovered that 
many enormities had been committed under color of reli¬ 
gious zeal, and many innocent persons accused by false 
witnesses of apostacy, either through malice or a hope 
of obtaining their wealth: she caused strict investiga¬ 
tion, therefore into the proceedings which had been 
held; many of which were reversed, and suborners pun¬ 
ched in proportion to their guilt.* 


Pulgar, pt. 3, c. 100. 


CHAPTER LXVTCL 



HOW KING FERDINAND INVADED THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE KINGDOM OF 
GRANADA, AND HOW HE WAS RECEIVED BY EL ZAGAL. 

ULEY ABDALLAH EL ZAGAL,” says the 
venerable Jesuit father, Pedro Abarca, “ was 
the most venomous Mahometan in all Mo- 
risma : ” and the worthy Fray Antonio Agapida most de¬ 
voutly echoes his opinion. “ Certainly,” adds the latter, 
“none ever opposed a more heathenish and diabolical 
obstinacy to the holy inroads of the cross and sword.” 

El Zagal felt that it was necessary to do something to 
quicken his popularity with the people, and that nothing 
was more effectual than a successful inroad. The Moors 
loved the stirring call to arms, and a wild foray among 
the mountains; and delighted more in a hasty spoil, 
wrested with hard fighting from the Christians, than in all 
the steady and certain gains secured by peaceful traffic. 

There reigned at this time a careless security along the 
frontier of Jaen. The alcaydes of the Christian fortresses 
were confident of the friendship of Boabdil el Chico, and 
they fancied his uncle too distant and too much en¬ 
grossed by his own perplexities, to think of molesting 








464 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


them. On a sudden, El Zagal issued out of Guadix with 
a chosen band, passed rapidly through the mountains 
which extend behind Granada, and fell like a thunder¬ 
bolt upon the territories in the neighborhood of Alcala la 
Heal. Before the alarm could be spread and the frontier 
roused, he had made a wide career of destruction through 
the country, sacking and burning villages, sweeping off 
flocks and herds, and carrying away captives. The war¬ 
riors of the frontier assembled; but El Zagal was already 
far on his return through the mountains, and he reen¬ 
tered the gates of Guadix in triumph, his army laden 
with Christian spoil, and conducting an immense caval- 
gada. Such was one of El Zagal’s preparatives for the 
expected invasion of the Christian king, exciting the war¬ 
like spirit of his people, and gaining for himself a tran¬ 
sient popularity. 

King Ferdinand assembled his army at Murcia, in the 
spring of 1488. He left that city on the fifth of June, 
with a flying camp of four thousand horse and fourteen 
thousand foot. The marques of Cadiz led the van, fol¬ 
lowed by the adelantado of Murcia. The army entered 
the Moorish frontier by the sea-coast, spreading terror 
through the land; w T herever it appeared the towns sur¬ 
rendered without a blow, so great was the dread of ex¬ 
periencing the woes which had desolated the opposite 
frontier. In this way, Yera, Velez el Bubio, Velez el 
Blanco, and many towns of inferior note, to the number 
of sixty, yielded at the first summons. 


FERDINAND MEETS EL ZAOAL. 


465 


It was not until it approached Almeria, that the army- 
met with resistance. This important city was com¬ 
manded by the prince Zelim, a relation of El Zagal. He 
led forth his Moors bravely to the encounter, and skir¬ 
mished fiercely with the advanced guard in the gardens 
near the city. King Ferdinand came up with the main 
body of the army, and called off his troops from the skir¬ 
mish. He saw that to attack the place with his present 
force was fruitless. Having reconnoitered the city and 
its environs, therefore, against a future campaign, he re¬ 
tired with his army and marched towards Baza. 

The old warrior El Zagal was himself drawn up in the 
city of Baza, with a powerful garrison. He felt confi¬ 
dence in the strength of the place, and rejoiced when he 
heard that the Christian king was approaching. In the 
valley in front of Baza, there extended a great tract of 
gardens, like a continued grove, intersected by canals and 
water-courses. In this he stationed an ambuscade of 
arquebussiers and cross-bowmen. The van-guard of the 
Christian army came marching gayly up the valley, with 
great sound of drum and trumpet, and led on by the 
marques of Cadiz and the adelantado of Murcia. As 
they drew near, El Zagal sallied forth with horse and 
foot, and attacked them for a time with great spirit. 
Gradually falling back, as if pressed by their superior 
valor, he drew the exulting Christians among the gar¬ 
dens. Suddenly the Moors in ambuscade burst from 
their concealment, and opened such a fire in flank and 
30 


466 


CONQUEST OF OBAN AD A. 


rear, that many of the Christians were slain, and the rest 
thrown into confusion. King Ferdinand arrived in time 
to see the disastrous situation of his troops, and gave 
signal for the van-guard to retire. 

El Zagal did not permit the foe to draw off unmolested. 
Ordering out fresh squadrons, he fell upon the rear of 
the retreating troops with triumphant shouts, driving 
them before him with dreadful havoc. The old war-cry 
of “ El Zagal! El Zagal!” was again put up by the 
Moors, and echoed with transport from the walls of the 
city. The Christians were in imminent peril of a com¬ 
plete rout, when fortunately the adelantado of Murcia 
threw himself with a large body of horse and foot be¬ 
tween the pursuers and the pursued, covering the retreat 
of the latter and giving them time to rally. The Moors 
were now attacked so vigorously in turn, that they gave 
over the contest, and drew back slowly into the city. 
Many valiant cavaliers were slain in this skirmish; 
among the number was Don Philip of Aragon, master of 
the chivalry of St. George of Montesor; he was illegiti¬ 
mate son of the king’s illegitimate brother Don Carlos, 
and his death was greatly bewailed by Ferdinand. He 
had formerly been archbishop of Palermo, but had doffed 
the cassock for the cuirass, and, according to Fray An¬ 
tonio Agapida, had gained a glorious crown of martyr¬ 
dom by falling in this holy war. 

The warm reception to his advance guard, brought 
king Ferdinand to a pause: he encamped on the banka 


CLOSE OF THE CAMPAIGN. 


467 


of the neighboring river Guadalquiton, and began to con¬ 
sider whether he had acted wisely in undertaking this 
campaign with his present force. His late successes had 
probably rendered him over-confident: El Zagal had 
again schooled him into his characteristic caution. He 
saw that the old warrior was too formidably ensconced 
in Baza, to be dislodged by anything except a powerful 
army and battering artillery; and he feared, that should 
he persist in his invasion, some disaster might befall his 
army, either from the enterprise of the foe, or from 
a pestilence which prevailed in various parts of the 
country. He retired, therefore, from before Baza, as 
he had on a former occasion from before Loxa, all 
the wiser for a wholesome lesson in warfare, but by no 
means grateful to those who had given it, and with 
a solemn determination to have his revenge upon his 
teachers. 

He now took measures for the security of the places 
gained in this campaign; placing in them strong garri¬ 
sons, well armed and supplied, charging their alcaydes to 
be vigilant on their posts and to give no rest to the ene¬ 
my. The whole of the frontier was placed under the 
command of Luiz Fernandez Puerto Carrero. As it was 
evident, from the warlike character of El Zagal, that 
there would be an abundance of active service and hard 
fighting, many hidalgos and young cavaliers, eager for 
distinction, remained with Puerto Carrero. 

All these dispositions being made, king Ferdinand 


468 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


closed the dubious campaign of this year, not, as usual, 
by returning in triumph at the head of his army to 
some important city of his dominions, but by disband¬ 
ing the troops, and repairing to pray at the cross of Ca- 
ravaca. 


CHAPTER LXIX. 


HOW THE MOORS MADE VARIOUS ENTERPRISES AGAINST THE CHRISTIANS. 

the pious king Ferdinand,” observes Fray 
aio Agapida, “was humbling himself be- 
the cross, and devoutly praying for the 
destruction of his enemies, that fierce pagan, El Zagal, 
depending merely on arm of flesh and sword of steel, 
pursued his diabolical outrages upon the Christians.” 
No sooner was the invading army disbanded than he 
sallied forth from his stronghold, and carried fire and 
sword into all those parts which had submitted to the 
Spanish yoke. The castle of Nixar, being carelessly 
guarded, was taken by surprise, and its garrison put to 
the sword. The old warrior raged with sanguinary fury 
about the whole frontier, attacking convoys, slaying, 
wounding, and making prisoners, and coming by surprise 
upon the Christians wherever they were off their guard. 

Carlos de Biedma, alcayde of the fortress of Culla, 
confiding in the strength of its walls and towers, and in 
its difficult situation, being built on the summit of a lofty 
hill, and surrounded by precipices, ventured to absent 
himself from his post. He was engaged to be married 

469 








470 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


to a fair and noble lady of Baeza, and repaired to that 
city to celebrate his nuptials, escorted by a brilliant ar¬ 
ray of the best horsemen of his garrison. Apprised of 
his absence, the vigilant El Zagal suddenly appeared 
before Culla with a powerful force, stormed the town 
sword in hand, fought the Christians from street to 
street, and drove them, with great slaughter, to the cita¬ 
del. Here a veteran captain, by the name of Juan de 
Avalos, a gray-headed warrior, scarred in many a battle, 
assumed the command, and made an obstinate defense. 
Neither the multitude of the enemy, nor the vehemence 
of their attacks, though led on by the terrible El Zagal 
himself, had power to shake the fortitude of this doughty 
old soldier. 

The Moors undermined the outer walls and one of the 
towers of the fortress, and made their way into the ex¬ 
terior court. The alcayde manned the tops of his towers, 
pouring down melted pitch, and showering darts, arrows, 
stones, and all kinds of missiles upon the assailants. 
The Moors were driven out of the court; but, being 
reinforced with fresh troops, returned repeatedly to the 
assault. For five days the combat was kept up: the 
Christians were nearly exhausted, but were sustained by 
the cheerings of their stanch old alcayde, and the fear of 
death from El Zagal should they surrender. At length 
the approach of a powerful force under Don Luis Puerto 
Carrero relieved them from this fearful peril. El Zagal 
abandoned the assault, but set fire to the town in his 


MOORISH INROADS. 


471 


rage and disappointment, and retired to his stronghold of 
Gnadix. 

The example of El Zagal roused his adherents to 
action. Two bold Moorish alcajdes, Ali Aliatar and 
Yzan Aliatar, commanding the fortresses of Alhenden and 
Salobreha, laid waste the country of the subjects of 
Boabdil, and the places which had recently submitted to 
the Christians: they swept off the cattle, carried off cap¬ 
tives, and harassed the whole of the newly conquered 
frontier. 

The Moors, also, of Almeria, and Tavernas, and Pur- 
chena, made inroads into Murcia, and carried fire and 
sword into its most fertile regions. On the opposite 
frontier, also, among the wild valleys and rugged recesses 
of the Sierra Bermeja, or Red Mountains, many of the 
Moors who had lately submitted again flew to arms. 
The marques of Cadiz suppressed by timely vigilance the 
rebellion of the mountain town of Gausin, situated on a 
high peak, almost among the clouds; but others of the 
Moors fortified themselves in rock-built towers and cas¬ 
tles, inhabited solely by warriors; whence they carried 
on a continual war of forage and depredation; sweeping 
down into the valleys, and carrying off flocks and herds 
and all kinds of booty to these eagle-nests, to which it 
was perilous and fruitless to pursue them. 

The worthy father, Fray Antonio Agapida, closes his 
history of this checkered year in quite a different strain 
from those triumphant periods with which he is accus- 


472 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA 


tomed to wind up the victorious campaigns of the sover¬ 
eigns. “ Great and mighty,” says this venerable chroni¬ 
cler, “were the floods and tempests which prevailed 
throughout the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon about 
this time. It seemed as though the windows of heaven 
were again opened, and a second deluge overwhelming 
the face of nature. The clouds burst, as it were, in cata¬ 
racts upon the earth; torrents rushed down from the 
mountains, overflowing the valleys; brooks were swelled 
into raging rivers; houses were undermined; mills were 
swept away by their own streams; the affrighted shep¬ 
herds saw their flocks drowned in the midst of the pas¬ 
ture, and were fain to take refuge for their lives in towers 
and high places. The Guadalquivir for a time became a 
roaring and tumultuous sea, inundating the immense 
plain of the Tablada, and filling the fair city of Seville 
with affright. 

“ A vast black cloud moved over the land, accompanied 
by a hurricane and a trembling of the earth. Houses 
were unroofed, the walls and battlements of fortresses 
shaken, and lofty towers rocked to their foundations. 
Ships, riding at anchor, were either stranded or swal¬ 
lowed up; others, under sail, were tossed to and fro 
upon mountain waves, and cast upon the land, where 
the whirlwind rent them in pieces and scattered them in 
fragments in the air. Doleful was the ruin and great the 
terror where this baleful cloud passed by; and it left a 
long track of desolation over sea and land. Some of the 


FLOODS AND TEMPESTS. 


473 


faint-hearted,” adds Antonio Agapida, “ looked upon this 
torment of the elements as a prodigious event, out of the 
course of nature. In the weakness of their fears, they 
connected it with those troubles which occurred in vari¬ 
ous places, considering it a portent of some great calam¬ 
ity, about to be wrought by the violence of the bloody- 
handed El Zagal and his fierce adherents.” * 


* See Cura de los Palacios, cap. 91. Palencia, De Bella Granad. lib. 8. 



CHAPTER LXX. 

HOW KING FERDINAND PREPARED TO BESIEGE THE CITY OF BAZA, AND HOW 
THE CITY PREPARED FOR DEFENSE. 



HE stormy winter had passed away, and the 
spring of 1489 was advancing; yet the heavy 
rains had broken np the roads, the mountain 
brooks were swollen to raging torrents, and the late shal¬ 
low and peaceful rivers were deep, turbulent, and dan¬ 
gerous. The Christian troops had been summoned to as¬ 
semble in early spring on the frontiers of Jaen, but were 
slow in arriving at the appointed place. They were 
entangled in the mhy defiles of the mountains, or fretted 
impatiently on the banks of impassable floods. It was 
late in the month of May, before they assembled in suffi¬ 
cient force to attempt the proposed invasion; when, at 
length a valiant army, of thirteen thousand horse and 
forty thousand foot, marched merrily over the border. 
The queen remained at the city of Jaen, with the prince- 
royal and the princesses her children, accompanied and 
supported by the venerable cardinal of Spain, and those 
reverend prelates who assisted in her councils through¬ 
out this holy war. 


474 







BAZA MENACED. 


475 


The plan of king Ferdinand was to lay siege to the city 
of Baza, the key of the remaining possessions of the 
Moor. That important fortress taken, Guadix and Al- 
meria must soon follow, and then the power of El Zagal 
would be at an end. As the Catholic king advanced, he 
had first to secure various castles and strongholds in the 
vicinity of Baza, which might otherwise harass his army. 
Some of these made obstinate resistance, especially the 
town of Zujar. The Christians assailed the walls with 
various machines, to sap them and batter them down. 
The brave alcayde, Hubec Abdilbar, opposed force to 
force and engine to engine. He manned his towers with 
his bravest warriors, who rained down an iron shower 
upon the enemy; and he linked cauldrons together by 
strong chains, and cast fire from them, consuming the 
wooden engines of their assailants, and those who man¬ 
aged them. 

The siege was protracted for several days: the bravery 
of the alcayde could not save his fortress from an over¬ 
whelming foe, but it gained him honorable terms. Fer¬ 
dinand permitted the garrison and the inhabitants to re¬ 
pair with their effects to Baza ; and the gallant Hubec 
marched forth with the remnant of his force, and took 
the way to that devoted city. 

The delays caused to the invading army by these cir¬ 
cumstances, had been diligently improved by El Zagal, 
who felt that he was now making his last stand for em¬ 
pire, and that this campaign would decide, whether 


476 


CONQUEST OF OR AN AD A. 


lie should continue a king, or sink into a vassal. He 
was but a few leagues from Baza, at the city of Guadix. 
This last was the most important point of his remaining 
territories, being a kind of bulwark between them and 
the hostile city of Granada, the seat of his nephew’s 
power. Though he heard of the tide of war, therefore, 
collecting and rolling towards the city of Baza, he dared 
not go in person to its assistance. He dreaded that 
should he leave Guadix, Boabdil would attack him in 
rear while the Christian army was battling with him 
in front. El Zagal trusted in the great strength of Baza, 
to defy any violent assault, and profited by the delays of 
the Christian army, to supply it with all possible means 
of defense. He sent thither all the troops he could 
spare from his garrison of Guadix, and dispatched mis¬ 
sives throughout his territories, calling upon all true 
Moslems to hasten to Baza, and make a devoted stand 
in defense of their homes, their liberties, and their relig¬ 
ion. The cities of Tavernas and Purchena, and the sur¬ 
rounding heights and valleys, responded to his orders, 
and sent forth their fighting men to the field. The rocky 
.fastnesses of the Alpuxarras resounded with the din of 
arms; troops of horse and bodies of foot-soldiers were 
seen winding down the rugged cliffs and defiles of those 
marble mountains, and hastening towards Baza. Many 
brave cavaliers of Granada also, spurning the quiet and 
security of Christian vassalage, secretly left the city and 
hastened to join their fighting countrymen. The great 


CID EIAYA ALNAYAR. 


477 


dependence of El Zagal, however, was upon the valor and 
loyalty of his cousin and brother-in-law, Cid Hiaya Al- 
nayar,* who was alcayde of Almeria,—a cavalier ex¬ 
perienced in warfare and redoubtable in the field. He 
wrote to him to leave Almeria, and repair with all speed, 
at the head of his troops, to Baza. Cid Hiaya departed 
immediately, with ten thousand of the bravest Moors 
in the kingdom. These were for the most part hardy 
mountaineers, tempered to sun and storm, and tried in 
many a combat. None equaled them for a sally or a 
skirmish. They were adroit in executing a thousand 
stratagems, ambuscadoes, and evolutions. Impetuous in 
their assaults, yet governed in their utmost fury by a 
word or sign from their commander, at the sound of a 
trumpet they would check themselves in the midst of 
their career, wheel off and disperse; and at another 
sound of a trumpet, they would as suddenly reassemble 
and return to the attack. They were upon the enemy 
when least expected, coming like a rushing blast, spread¬ 
ing havoc and consternation, and then passing away in 

* This name has generally been written Cidi Yahye. The present 
mode is adopted on the authority of Alcantara in his history of Granada; 
who appears to have derived it from Arabic manuscripts, existing in the 
archives of the marques de Corvera, descendant of Cid Hiaya. The lat¬ 
ter (Cid Hiaya) was son of Aben Zelim, a deceased prince of Almeria, and 
was a lineal descendant from the celebrated Aben Hud, sumamed the 
Just. The wife of Cid Hiaya was sister of the two Moorish generals, 
Abul Cacim and fleduan Yanegas, and like them the fruit of the union 
of a Christian knight, Don Pedro Vanegas, with Cetimerien, a Moorish 
princess. 


478 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


an instant; so that when one recovered from the shock 
and looked around, behold nothing was to be seen or 
heard of this tempest of war, but a cloud of dust and the 
clatter of retreating hoofs.* 

When Cid Hiaya led his train of ten thousand valiant 
warriors into the gates of Baza, the city rang with accla¬ 
mations, and for a time the inhabitants thought them¬ 
selves secure. El Zagal, also, felt a glow of confidence, 
notwithstanding his own absence from the city. “ Cid 
Hiaya,” said he, “is my cousin and my brother-in-law; 
related to me by blood and marriage, he is a second self: 
happy is that monarch who has his kindred to command 
his armies.” 

With all these reinforcements, the garrison of Baza 
amounted to above twenty thousand men. There were 
at this time three principal leaders in the city: Moham¬ 
med Ibn Hassan, surnamed the Veteran, who was mili¬ 
tary governor or alcayde, an old Moor of great experi¬ 
ence and discretion; the second was Hamet Abu Zali, 
who was captain of the troops stationed in the place; 
and the third was Hubec Abdilbar, late alcayde of Zu- 
jar, who had repaired hither with the remains of his 
garrison. Over all these Cid Hiaya exercised a supreme 
command, in consequence of his being of the blood-royal, 
and in the especial confidence of Muley Abdallah el Za¬ 
gal. He was eloquent and ardent in council, and fond 


Pulgar, pt. 3, c. 106. 


THE CITY OF BAZA. 


479 


of striking and splendid achievements; but he was a lit¬ 
tle prone to be carried away by the excitement of the 
moment, and the warmth of his imagination. The coun¬ 
cils of war of these commanders, therefore, were more 
frequently controlled by the opinions of the old alcayde 
Mohammed Ibn Hassan, for whose shrewdness, caution, 
and experience, Cid Hiaya himself felt the greatest def¬ 
erence. 

The city of Baza was situated in a great valley, eight 
leagues in length and three in breadth, called the Hoya, 
or basin of Baza. It was surrounded by a range of 
mountains, called the Sierra of Xabalcohol, the streams of 
which, collecting themselves into two rivers, watered and 
fertilized the country. The city was built in the plain; 
one part of it protected by the rocky precipices of the 
mountain, and by a powerful citadel; the other by mas¬ 
sive walls, studded with immense towers. It had sub¬ 
urbs towards the plain, imperfectly fortified by earthen 
walls. In front of these suburbs extended a tract of or¬ 
chards and gardens nearly a league in length, so thickly 
planted as to resemble a continued forest. Here, every 
citizen who could afford it, had his little plantation, 
and his garden of fruits and flowers and vegetables, 
watered by canals and rivulets, and dominated by a 
small tower for recreation or defense. This wilderness 
of groves and gardens, intersected in all parts by canals 
and runs of water, and studded by above a thousand 
small towers, formed a kind of protection to this side of 


480 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


the city, rendering all approach extremely difficult and 
perplexed. 

While the Christian army had been detained before 
the frontier posts, the city of Baza had been a scene of 
hurried and unremitting preparation. All the grain of 
the surrounding valley, though yet unripe, was hastily 
reaped and borne into the city, to prevent it from yield¬ 
ing sustenance to the enemy. The country was drained 
of all its supplies; flocks and herds were driven, bleating 
and bellowing, into the gates; long trains of beasts of 
burden, some laden with food, others with lances, darts, 
and arms of all kinds, kept pouring into the place. Al¬ 
ready were munitions collected sufficient for a siege of 
fifteen months; still the eager and hasty preparation 
was going on, when the army of Ferdinand came in 
sight. 

On one side might be seen scattered parties of foot 
and horse spurring to the gates, and muleteers hurrying 
forward their burdened animals, all anxious to get under 
shelter before the gathering storm ; on the other side, 
the cloud of war came sweeping down the valley, the roll 
of drum or clang of trumpet resounding occasionally 
from its deep bosom, or the bright glance of arms flash¬ 
ing forth, like vivid lightning, from its columns. King 
Ferdinand pitched his tents in the valley, beyond the 
green labyrinth of gardens. He sent his heralds to sum¬ 
mon the city to surrender, promising the most favorable 
terms in case of immediate compliance, and avowing in 


SUMMONS TO SURRENDER. 


481 


the most solemn terms his resolution never to abandon 
the siege until he had possession of the place. 

Upon receiving this summons, the Moorish command¬ 
ers held a council of war. The prince Cid Hiaya, indig¬ 
nant at the menaces of the king, was for retorting by a 
declaration that the garrison never would surrender, but 
would fight until buried under the ruins of the walls. 
“ Of what avail,” said the veteran Mohammed, “ is a 
declaration of the kind, which we may falsify by our 
deeds ? Let us threaten what we know we can perform, 
and let us endeavor to perform more than we threaten.” 

In conformity to his advice, therefore, a laconic reply 
^as sent to the Christian monarch, thanking him for his 
offer of favorable terms, but informing him that they 
were placed in the city to defend, not to surrender it. 

81 


CHAPTER LSXI. 


THE BATTLE OP THE GARDENS BEFORE BAZA. 

■ HEN the reply of the Moorish commanders was 
brought to King Ferdinand, he prepared to 
press the siege with the utmost rigor. Find¬ 
ing the camp too far from the city, and that the inter¬ 
vening orchards afforded shelter for the sallies of the 
Moors, he determined to advance it beyond the gardens, 
in the space between them and the suburbs, where his 
batteries would have full play upon the city walls. A 
detachment was sent in advance, to take possession of 
the gardens, and keep a check upon the suburbs, op¬ 
posing any sally, while the encampment should be 
formed and fortified. The various commanders entered 
the orchards at different points. The young cavaliers 
marched fearlessly forward, but the experienced veterans 
foresaw infinite peril in the mazes of this verdant laby¬ 
rinth. The master of St. Jago, as he led his troops into 
the centre of the gardens, exhorted them to keep by one 
another, and to press forward in defiance of all difficulty 
or danger; assuring them that God would give them the 
victory, if they attacked hardily and persisted resolutely. 

482 



THE FIGHT IN THE GARDENS. 


483 


Scarce had they entered the verge of the orchards, 
when a din of drums and trumpets, mingled with war- 
cries, was heard from the suburbs, and a legion of Moor¬ 
ish warriors on foot poured forth. They were led on by 
the prince Cid Hiaya. He saw the imminent danger of 
the city, should the Christians gain possession of the 
orchards. “Soldiers,” he cried, “we fight for life and 
liberty, for our families, our country, our religion;* noth¬ 
ing is left for us to depend upon, but the strength of our 
hands, the courage of our hearts, and the almighty pro¬ 
tection of Allah.” The Moors answered him with shouts 
of war, and rushed to the encounter. The two hosts met 
in the midst of the gardens. A chance-medley combat 
ensued, with lances, arquebuses, cross-bows, and scime- 
tars; the perplexed nature of the ground, cut up and in¬ 
tersected by canals and streams, the closeness of the 
trees, the multiplicity of towers and petty edifices, gave 
greater advantages to the Moors, who were on foot, than 
to the Christians, who were on horseback. The Moors, 
too, knew the ground, with all its alleys and passes ; and 
were thus enabled to lurk, to sally forth, attack, and re¬ 
treat, almost without injury. 

The Christian commanders seeing this, ordered many 
of the horsemen to dismount and fight on foot. The bat¬ 
tle then became fierce and deadly, each disregarding his 
own life, provided he could slay his enemy. It was not 

* “Illi (Mauri) pro fortunis, pro libertate, pro laribus patriis, pro vita 
denique certabant.”—Pietro Martyr, Epist. 70. 


484 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


so much a general battle, as a multitude of petty actions; 
for every orchard and garden had its distinct contest. 
No one could see further than the little scene of fury 
and bloodshed around him, nor know how the general 
battle fared. In vain the captains exerted their voices, 
in vain the trumpets brayed forth signals and commands 
—all was confounded and unheard, in the universal din 
and uproar. No one kept to his standard, but fought as 
his own fury or fear dictated. In some places the Chris¬ 
tians had the advantage, in others the Moors ; often, a 
victorious party, pursuing the vanquished, came upon a 
superior and triumphant force of the enemy, and the 
fugitives turned back upon them in an overwhelming 
wave. Some broken remnants, in their terror and confu¬ 
sion, fled from their own countrymen and sought refuge 
among their enemies, not knowing friend from foe, in the 
obscurity of the groves. The Moors were more adroit in 
these wild skirmishings, from their flexibility, lightness, 
and agility, and the rapidity with which they would dis¬ 
perse, rally, and return again to the charge.* 

The hardest fighting was about the small garden 
towers and pavilions, which served as so many petty 
fortresses. Each party by turns gained them, defended 
them fiercely, and were driven out; many of the towers 
were set on fire, and increased the horrors of the fight by 
the wreaths of smoke and flame in which they wrapped 


* Mariana, lib. 25, cap. 13. 


FERDINAND’S ANXIETY. 


485 


the groves, and by the shrieks of those who were burn¬ 
ing. 

Several of the Christian cavaliers, bewildered by the 
uproar and confusion, and shocked at the carnage which 
prevailed, would have led their men out of the action; 
but they were entangled in a labyrinth, and knew not 
which way to retreat. While in this perplexity, Juan 
Perea, the standard-bearer of one of the squadrons of the 
grand cardinal, had his arm carried off by a cannon-ball; 
the standard was well nigh falling into the hands of the 
enemy, when Eodrigo de Mendoza, an intrepid youth, 
natural son of the grand cardinal, rushed to its rescue, 
through a shower of balls, lances, and arrows, and, bear¬ 
ing it aloft, dashed forward with it into the hottest of the 
combat, followed by his shouting soldiery. 

King Ferdinand, who remained in the skirts of the 
orchard, was in extreme anxiety. It was impossible to 
see much of the action, for the multiplicity of trees and 
towers, and the wreaths of smoke; and those who were 
driven out defeated, or came out wounded and exhausted, 
gave different accounts, according to the fate of the par¬ 
tial conflicts in which they had been engaged. Ferdi¬ 
nand exerted himself to the utmost to animate and en¬ 
courage his troops to this blind encounter, sending 
reinforcements of horse and foot to those points where 
the battle was most sanguinary and doubtful. 

Among those who were brought forth mortally wound¬ 
ed was Don Juan de Luna, a youth of uncommon merit, 


486 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


greatly prized by the king, beloved by the army, and 
married to Dona Catalina de Urrea, a young lady of dis¬ 
tinguished beauty.* They laid him at the foot of a tree, 
and endeavored to stanch and bind up his wounds with a 
scarf which his bride had wrought for him; but his 
life-blood flowed too profusely; and while a holy friar 
was yet administering to him the last sacred offices of 
the church, he expired, almost at the feet of his sov¬ 
ereign. 

On the other hand, the veteran alcayde, Mohammed 
Ibn Hassan, surrounded by a little band of chieftains, 
kept an anxious eye upon the scene of combat, from the 
walls of the city. For nearly twelve hours the battle 
raged without intermission. The thickness of the foliage 
hid all the particulars from their sight; but they could 
see the flash of swords and glance of helmets among the 
trees. Columns of smoke rose in every direction, while 
the clash of arms, the thundering of ribadoquines and 
arquebuses, the shouts and cries of the combatants, and 
the groans and supplications of the wounded, bespoke 
the deadly conflict waging in the bosom of the groves. 
They were harassed, too, by the shrieks and lamentations 
of the Moorish women and children, as their wounded 
relatives were brought bleeding from the scene of action; 
and were stunned by a general outcry of woe on the part 
of the inhabitants, as the body of Reduan Zafargal, a 


* Mariana. P. Martyr. Zurita. 


SUCCESS OF TEE CHRISTIANS. 


487 


renegado Christian, ancj- one of the bravest of their 
generals, was borne breathless into the city. 

At length the din of battle approached nearer to the 
skirts of the orchard. They beheld their warriors driven 
out from among the groves by fresh squadrons of the 
enemy, and, after disputing the ground inch by inch, 
obliged to retire to a place between the orchards and the 
suburbs, which was fortified with palisadoes. 

The Christians immediately planted opposing palisa¬ 
does, and established strong outposts near to this retreat 
of the Moors, while, at the same time, King Ferdinand 
ordered that his encampment should be pitched within 
the hard-won orchards. 

Mohammed Ibn Hassan sallied forth to the aid of the 
prince Cid Hiaya, and made a desperate attempt to dis¬ 
lodge the enemy from this formidable position; but the 
night had closed, and the darkness rendered it impos¬ 
sible to make any impression. The Moors, however, 
kept up constant assaults and alarms throughout the 
night; and the weary Christians, exhausted by the toils 
and sufferings of the day, were not allowed a moment of 
repose.* 

* Pulgar, pt. 3, cap. 106,107. Cura de los Palacios , cap. 92. Zurita, 
lib. 20, cap. 81. 


CHAPTER LXXH. 


SIEGE OP BAZA.—EMBARRASSMENTS OF THE ARMY. 


|HE morning snn rose upon a piteous scene be¬ 
fore the walls of Baza. The Christian outposts, 
harassed throughout the night, were pale and 


haggard ; while the multitudes of slain which lay before 
their palisadoes, showed the fierce attacks they had sus¬ 
tained, and the bravery of their defense. 

Beyond them lay the groves and gardens of Baza; once 
favorite resorts for recreation and delight—now, a scene 
of horror and desolation. The towers and pavilions were 
smoking ruins; the canals and water-courses were discol¬ 
ored with blood, and choked with the bodies of the slain. 
Here and there the ground, deep dinted with the tramp 
of man and steed, and plashed and slippery with gore, 
showed where had been some fierce and mortal con¬ 
flict ; while the bodies of Moors and Christians, ghastly 
in death, lay half-concealed among the matted and tram¬ 
pled shrubs, and flowers, and herbage. 

Amidst these sanguinary scenes rose the Christian 
tents, hastily pitched among the gardens in the preced¬ 
ing evening. The experience of the night, however, and 

488 









RETREAT FROM THE GARDENS. 


489 


the forlorn aspect of everything in the morning, con¬ 
vinced king Ferdinand of the perils and hardships to 
which his camp must be exposed, in its present situa¬ 
tion; and, after a consultation with his principal cava¬ 
liers, he resolved to abandon the orchards. 

It was a dangerous movement, to extricate his army 
from so entangled a situation, in the face of so alert and 
daring an enemy. A bold front was therefore kept up 
towards the city; additional troops were ordered to the 
advanced posts, and works begun as if for a settled 
encampment. Not a tent was struck in the gardens; but 
in the meantime, the most active and unremitting exer¬ 
tions were made to remove all the baggage and furniture 
of the camp back to the original station. 

All day, the Moors beheld a formidable show of wai 
maintained in front of the gardens; while in the rear, the 
tops of the Christian tents, and the pennons of the dif¬ 
ferent commanders, were seen rising above the groves. 
Suddenly, towards evening, the tents sank and disap¬ 
peared; the outposts broke up their stations and with¬ 
drew, and the whole shadow of an encampment was fast 
vanishing from their eyes. 

The Moors saw too late the subtle manoeuvre of king 
Ferdinand. Cid Hiaya again sallied forth with a large 
force of horse and foot, and pressed furiously upon the 
Christians. The latter, however, experienced in Moorish 
attack, retired in close order, sometimes turning upon 
the enemy and driving them to their barricadoes, and 


m 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


then pursuing their retreat. In this way the army was 
extricated, without much further loss, from the per¬ 
ilous labyrinths of the gardens. 

The camp was now out of danger; but it was also too 
distant from the city to do mischief, while the Moors 
could sally forth and return without hindrance. The 
king called a council of war, to consider in what manner 
to proceed. The marques of Cadiz was for abandoning 
the siege for the present, the place being too strong, too 
well garrisoned and provided, and too extensive, for their 
limited forces either to carry it by assault, or invest and 
reduce it by famine; while, in lingering before it, the army 
would be exposed to the usual maladies and sufferings 
of besieging armies, and, when the rainy season came on, 
would be shut up by the swelling of the rivers. He rec¬ 
ommended, instead, that the king should throw garri¬ 
sons of horse and foot into all the towns captured in the 
neighborhood, and leave them to keep up a predatory 
war upon Baza, while he should overrun and ravage all 
the country; so that, in the following year, Almeria and 
Guadix, having all their subject towns and territories 
taken from them, might be starved into submission. 

Don Gutierre de Cardenas, senior commander of Leon, 
on the other hand, maintained that to abandon the siege 
would be construed by the enemy into a sign of weakness 
and irresolution. It would give new spirits to the parti¬ 
sans of El Zagal, and would gain to his standard many 
of the wavering subjects of Boabdil, if it did not encour* 


CONFLICTING COUNSELS. 


491 


age the fickle populace of Granada to open rebellion. 
He advised, therefore, that the siege should be prose¬ 
cuted with vigor. 

The pride of Ferdinand pleaded in favor of the last 
opinion; for it would be doubly humiliating, again to re¬ 
turn from a campaign in this part of the Moorish king¬ 
dom, without effecting a blow. But when he reflected 
on all that his army had suffered, and on all that they 
must suffer should the siege continue,—especially from 
the difficulty of obtaining a regular supply of provi¬ 
sions for so numerous a host, across a great extent of 
rugged and mountainous country, — he determined to 
consult the safety of his people, and to adopt the advice 
of the marques of Cadiz. 

When the soldiery heard that the king was about to 
raise the siege in mere consideration of their suffer¬ 
ings, they were filled with generous enthusiasm, and en¬ 
treated, as with one voice, that the siege might never 
be abandoned until the city surrendered. 

Perplexed by conflicting counsels, the king dispatched 
messengers to the queen at Jaen, requesting her advice. 
Posts had been stationed between them, in such man¬ 
ner that missives from the camp could reach the queen 
within ten hours. Isabella sent instantly her reply. 
She left the policy of raising or continuing the siege 
to the decision of the king and his captains; but 
should they determine to persevere, she pledged her¬ 
self, with the aid of God, to forward them men, money, 


492 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA . 


provisions, and all other supplies, until the city should 
be taken. 

The reply of the queen determined Ferdinand to per¬ 
severe ; and when his determination was made known to 
the army, it was hailed with as much joy as if it had 
been tidings of a victory. 









CHAPTER LXXm. 


SIEGE OF BAZA CONTINUED.—HOW KING FERDINAND COMPLETELY INVESTED 
THE CITY. 


HE Moorish prince Cid Hiaya had received 
tidings of the doubts and discussions in the 
Christian camp, and flattered himself with 
hopes that the besieging army would soon retire in de¬ 
spair, though the veteran Mohammed shook his head 
with incredulity. A sudden movement one morning in 
the Christian camp, seemed to confirm the sanguine 
hopes of the prince. The tents were struck, the artillery 
and baggage were conveyed away, and bodies of soldiers 
began to march along the valley. The momentary gleam 
of triumph was soon dispelled. The Catholic king had 
merely divided his host into two camps, the more effec¬ 
tually to distress the city. One, consisting of four thou¬ 
sand horse and eight thousand foot, with all the artillery 
and battering engines, took post on the side of the city 
towards the mountain. This was commanded by the 
marques of Cadiz, with whom were Don Alonzo de 
Aguilar, Luis Fernandez Puerto Carrero, and many other 
distinguished cavaliers. 


493 







494 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


The other camp was commanded by the king, having 
six thousand horse and a great host of foot-soldiers, the 
hardy mountaineers of Biscay, Guipuscoa, Galicia, and 
the Asturias. Among the cavaliers who were with the 
king were the brave count de Tendilla, Don Kodrigo de 
Mendoza, and Don Alonzo de Cardenas, master of San¬ 
tiago. The two camps were wide asunder, on opposite 
sides of the city, and between them lay the thick wilder¬ 
ness of orchards. Both camps were therefore fortified 
by great trenches, breastworks, and palisadoes. The 
veteran Mohammed, as he saw these two formidable 
camps glittering on each side of the city, and noted the 
well-known pennons of renowned commanders fluttering 
above them, still comforted his companions: “ These 
camps,” said he, “ are too far removed from each other, 
for mutual succor and cooperation; and the forest of 
orchards is as a gulf between them.” This consolation 
was but of short continuance. Scarcely were the Chris¬ 
tian camps fortified, when the ears of the Moorish gar¬ 
rison were startled by the sound of innumerable axes, and 
the crash of falling trees. They looked with anxiety 
from their highest towers, and beheld their favorite 
groves sinking beneath the blows of the Christian 
pioneers. The Moors sallied forth with fiery zeal to 
protect their beloved gardens, and the orchards in which 
they so much delighted. The Christians, however, were 
too well supported to be driven from their work. Day 
after day, the gardens became the scene of incessant and 


NEW INVESTMENT OF BAZA. 


495 


bloody skirmishings; yet still the devastation of the 
groves went on, for king Ferdinand was too well aware 
of the necessity of clearing away this screen of woods, 
not to bend all his forces to the undertaking. It was a 
work, however, of gigantic toil and patience. The trees 
were of such magnitude, and so closely set together, and 
spread over so wide an extent, that notwithstanding four 
thousand men were employed, they could scarcely clear 
a strip of land ten paces broad within a day; and such 
were the interruptions from the incessant assaults of the 
Moors, that it was full forty days before the orchards 
were completely leveled. 

The devoted city of Baza now lay stripped of its beau¬ 
tiful covering of groves and gardens, at once its orna¬ 
ment, its delight, and its protection. The besiegers 
went on slowly and surely, with almost incredible labors, 
to invest and isolate the city. They connected their 
camps by a deep trench across the plain, a league in 
length, into which they diverted the waters of the moun¬ 
tain streams. They protected this trench by palisadoes, 
fortified by fifteen castles, at regular distances. They 
dug a deep trench, also, two leagues in length, across the 
mountain in the rear of the city, reaching from camp to 
camp, and fortified it on each side with walls of earth, 
and stone, and wood. Thus the Moors were inclosed on 
all sides by trenches, palisadoes, walls, and castles; so 
that it was impossible for them to ’Sally beyond this 
great line of circumvallation—nor could any force enter 


496 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


to their succor. Ferdinand made an attempt likewise, to 
cut off the supply of water from the city; “ for water,” 
observes the worthy Agapida, “is more necessary to 
these infidels than bread, making use of it in repeated 
daily ablutions enjoined by their damnable religion, and 
employing it in baths and in a thousand other idle and 
extravagant modes, of which we Spaniards and Chris¬ 
tians make but little account.” 

There was a noble fountain of pure water, which 
gushed out at the foot of the hill Albohacen, just behind 
the city. The Moors had almost a superstitious fond¬ 
ness for this fountain, and chiefly depended upon it for 
their supplies. Receiving intimation from some desert¬ 
ers, of the plan of king Ferdinand to get possession of 
this precious fountain, they sallied forth at night, and 
threw up such powerful works upon the impending hill, 
as to set all attempts of the Christian assailants at defi¬ 


ance. 


CHAPTER LXXIV. 


EXPLOIT OP HERNANDO PEREZ DEL PULGAR AND OTHER CAVALIERS. 



HE siege of Baza, while it displayed the skill 
and science of the Christian commanders, gave 
but little scope for the adventurous spirit and 
fiery valor of the young Spanish cavaliers. They re¬ 
pined at the tedious monotony and dull security of their 
fortified camp, and longed for some soul-stirring exploit 
of difficulty and danger. Two of the most spirited of 
these youthful cavaliers were Francisco de Bazan and 
Antonio de Cueva, the latter of whom was son to the 
duke of Albuquerque. As they were one day seated on 
the ramparts of the camp, and venting their impatience 
at this life of inaction, they were overheard by a veteran 
adalid, one of those scouts or guides who are acquainted 
with all parts of the country. “Senors,” said he, “if 
you wish for a service of peril and profit, if you are will¬ 
ing to pluck the fiery old Moor by the beard, I can lead 
you to where you may put your mettle to the proof. 
Hard by the city of Guadix, are certain hamlets rich in 
booty. I can conduct you by a way in which you may 
come upon them by surprise; and if you are as cool in 
32 497 






498 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


the head, as you are hot in the spur, you may bear off 
your spoils from under the very eyes of old El Zagal.” 

The idea of thus making booty at the very gates of 
Guadix, pleased the hot-spirited youths. These preda¬ 
tory excursions were frequent about this time; and the 
Moors of Padul, Alhenden, and other towns of the Al- 
puxarras, had recently harassed the Christian territories 
by expeditions of the kind. Francisco de Bazan and 
Antonio de Cueva soon found other young cavaliers of 
their age, eager to join in the adventure; and in a little 
while, they had nearly three hundred horse and two hun¬ 
dred foot, ready equipped and eager for the foray. 

Keeping their destination secret, they sallied out of 
the camp on the edge of an evening, and, guided by the 
adalid, made their way by starlight through the most 
secret roads of the mountains. In this way they pressed 
on rapidly day and night, until early one morning, before 
cock-crowing they fell suddenly upon the hamlets, made 
prisoners of the inhabitants, sacked the houses, ravaged 
the fields, and sweeping through the meadows, gathered 
together all the flocks and herds. Without giving them¬ 
selves time to rest, they set out upon their return, mak¬ 
ing with all speed for the mountains, before the alarm 
should be given and the country roused. 

Several of the herdsmen, however, had fled to Guadix, 
and carried tidings of the ravage to El Zagal. The 
beard of old Muley trembled with rage ; he immediately 
sent out six hundred of his choicest horse and foot, with 


ADVENTURE OF THE CAVALIERS. 


499 


orders to recover the booty and to bring those insolent 
marauders captive to Guadix. 

The Christian cavaliers were urging their cavalgada of 
cattle and sheep up a mountain, as fast as their own 
weariness would permit, when, looking back, they beheld 
a great cloud of dust, and presently descried the tur- 
baned host hot upon their traces. 

They saw that the Moors were superior in number; 
they were fresh also, both man and steed, whereas both 
they and their horses were fatigued by two days and two 
nights of hard marching. Several of the horsemen there¬ 
fore gathered round the commanders, and proposed that 
they should relinquish their spoil, and save themselves 
by flight. The captains, Francisco de Bazan and Antonio 
de Cueva, spurned at such craven counsel. “Wliat!” 
cried they, “ abandon our prey without striking a blow ? 
Leave our foot-soldiers too in the lurch, to be over¬ 
whelmed by the enemy ? If any one gives such counsel 
through fear, he mistakes the course of safety; for there 
is less danger in presenting a bold front to the foe, than 
in turning a dastard back; and fewer men are killed in a 
brave advance, than in a cowardly retreat.” 

Some of the cavaliers were touched by these words, 
and declared that they would stand by the foot-soldiers 
like true companions in arms; the great mass of the 
party, however, were volunteers, brought together by 
chance, who received no pay, nor had any common tie to 
keep them together in time of danger. The pleasure of 


500 


CONQUEST OF OBAN ABA. 


the expedition being over, each thought but of his own 
safety, regardless of his companions. As the enemy 
approached, the tumult of opinions increased, and every¬ 
thing was in confusion. The captains, to put an end 
to the dispute, ordered the standard-bearer to advance 
against the Moors, well knowing that no true cavalier 
would hesitate to follow and defend his banner. The 
standard-bearer hesitated—the troops were on the point 
of taking to flight. 

Upon this a cavalier of the royal guards rode to the 
front. It was Hernan Perez del Pulgar, alcayde of the 
fortress of Salar: the same dauntless ambassador who 
once bore to the turbulent people of Malaga the king’s 
summons to surrender. Taking off a handkerchief which 
he wore round his head, after the Andalusian fashion, he 
tied it to the end of a lance and elevated it in the air. 
“Cavaliers,” cried he, “why do ye take weapons in your 
hands, if you depend upon your feet for safety ? This day 
will determine who is the brave man, and who the coward. 
He who is disposed to fight, shall not want a standard: 
let him follow this handkerchief.” So saying, he waved 
his banner, and spurred bravely against the Moors. His 
example shamed some, and filled others with generous 
emulation: all turned with one accord, and following Pul¬ 
gar, rushed with shouts upon the enemy. The Moors 
scarcely waited to receive the shock of their encounter. 
Seized with a panic, they took to flight, and were pursued 
for a considerable distance, with great slaughter. Three 


PEREZ DEL PULGAR. 


501 


hundred of their dead strewed the road, and were strip¬ 
ped and despoiled by the conquerors; many were taken 
prisoners, and the Christian cavaliers returned in triumph 
to the camp, with a long cavalgada of sheep and cattle, 
and mules laden with booty, and bearing before them the 
singular standard which had conducted them to victory. 

King Ferdinand was so pleased with the gallant action 
of Hernan Perez del Pulgar that he immediately con¬ 
ferred on him the honor of knighthood; using in the 
ceremony the sword of Diego de Aguero, the captain of 
the royal guards ; the duke of Esculona girded one of his 
own gilt spurs upon his heel, and the grand master of 
Santiago, the Count de Cabra, and Gonsalvo of Cordova 
officiated as witnesses. Furthermore, to perpetuate in 
his family the memory of his achievement, the sovereigns 
authorized him to emblazon on his escutcheon a golden 
lion in an azure field, bearing a lance with a handker¬ 
chief at the end of it. Round the border of the escutch¬ 
eon were depicted the eleven alcaydes vanquished in 
the battle.* The foregoing is but one of many hardy 
and heroic deeds done by this brave cavalier, in the wars 
against the Moors; by which he gained great renown, 
and the distinguished appellation of “ El de las hazanas,” 
or “ He of the exploits.” + 

* Alcantara, Hist, de Granada , tom. iv., cap. 18. Pulgar, Cron. pt. iii. 

f Hernan or Hernando del Pulgar, the historian, secretary to Queen 
Isabella, is confounded with this cavalier, by some writers. He was also 
present at the siege of Baza, and has recounted this transaction in his 
chronicle of the Catholic sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella. 


CHAPTER LXXV. 


CONTINUATION OF THE SIEGE OF BAZA. 

HE Moorish king El Zagal mounted a tower, 
and looked ont eagerly to enjoy the sight of the 
Christian marauders brought captive into the 
gates of Guadix; but his spirits fell when he beheld his 
own troops stealing back in the dusk of the evening, in 
broken and dejected parties. 

The fortune of war bore hard against the old monarch ; 
his mind was harassed by disastrous tidings brought 
each day from Baza, of the sufferings of the inhabitants, 
and the numbers of the garrison slain in the frequent 
skirmishes. He dared not go in person to the relief of 
the place, for his presence was necessary in Guadix, to 
keep a check upon his nephew in Granada. He sent re¬ 
inforcements and supplies; but they were intercepted, 
and either captured or driven back. Still his situation 
was in some respects preferable to that of his nephew 
Boabdil. He was battling like a warrior, on the last 
step of his throne; El Chico remained a kind of pen¬ 
sioned vassal, in the luxurious abode of the Alhambra. 
The chivalrous part of the inhabitants of Granada could 

502 









SIEGE OF BAZA CONTINUED. 


503 


not but compare the generous stand made by the war¬ 
riors of Baza for their country and their faith, with their 
own time-serving submission to the yoke of an unbe¬ 
liever. Every account they received of the woes of Baza 
wrung their hearts with agony; every account of the ex¬ 
ploits of its devoted defenders brought blushes to their 
cheeks. Many stole forth secretly with their weapons, 
and hastened to join the besieged; and the partisans of 
El Zagal wrought upon the patriotism and passions of 
the remainder, until another of those conspiracies was 
formed, that were continually menacing the unsteady 
throne of Granada. It was concerted by the conspirators 
to assail the Alhambra on a sudden, slay Boabdil, as¬ 
semble the troops, and march to Guadix; where, being 
reinforced by the garrison of that place, and led on by 
the old warrior monarch, they might fall with over¬ 
whelming power upon the Christian army before Baza. 

Fortunately for Boabdil, he discovered the conspiracy 
in time, and the heads of the leaders were struck off, and 
placed upon the walls of the Alhambra—an act of sever¬ 
ity unusual with this mild and wavering monarch, which 
struck terror into the disaffected, and produced a kind 
of mute tranquillity throughout the city. 

Ferdinand had full information of all the movements 
and measures for the relief of Baza, and took precautions 
to prevent them. Bodies of horsemen held watch in the 
mountain passes, to prevent supplies, and intercept any 
generous volunteers from Granada; and watch-towers 


504 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


were erected, or scouts placed on every commanding 
height, to give the alarm at the least sign of a hostile 
turban. 

The prince Cid Hiaya and his brave companions in 
arms were thus gradually walled up, as it were, from the 
rest of the world. A line of towers, the battlements of 
which bristled with troops, girded their city ; and be¬ 
hind the intervening bulwarks and palisadoes passed and 
repassed continual squadrons of troops. Week after 
week and month after month passed away, but Ferdi¬ 
nand waited in vain for the garrison to be either terrified 
or starved into surrender. Every day they sallied forth 
with the spirit and alacrity of troops high fed, and 
flushed with confidence. “ The Christian monarch,” says 
the veteran Mohammed Ibn Hassan, “ builds his hopes 
upon our growing faint and desponding—we must mani¬ 
fest unusual cheerfulness and vigor. What would be 
rashness in other service becomes prudence with us.” 
The prince Cid Hiaya agreed with him in opinion, and 
sallied forth with his troops upon all kinds of hare¬ 
brained exploits. They laid ambushes, concerted sur¬ 
prises, and made the most desperate assaults. The great 
extent of the Christian works rendered them weak in 
many parts: against these the Moors directed their at¬ 
tacks, suddenly breaking into them, making a hasty rav¬ 
age, and bearing off their booty in triumph to the city. 
Sometimes they would sally forth by passes and clefts 
of the mountain in the rear of the city, wdiich it was dif- 


PARTISAN SALLIES. 


505 


ficult to guard, and, hurrying down into the plain, swept 
off all cattle and sheep that were grazing near the sub¬ 
urbs, and all stragglers from the camp. 

These partisan sallies brought on many sharp and 
bloody encounters, in some of which Don Alonzo de 
Aguilar and the alcayde de los Donceles distinguished 
themselves greatly. During one of these hot skirmishes, 
which happened on the skirts of the mountain, about 
twilight, a cavalier, named Martin Galindo, beheld a 
powerful Moor dealing deadly blows about him, and 
making great havoc among the Christians. Galindo 
pressed forward and challenged him to single combat. 
The Moor was not slow in answering the call. Couching 
their lances, they rushed furiously upon each other. At 
the first shock the Moor was wounded in the face, and 
borne out of his saddle. Before Galindo could check 
his steed, and turn from his career, the Moor sprang 
upon his feet, recovered his lance, and, rushing upon 
him, wounded him in the head and the arm. Though Ga¬ 
lindo was on horseback and the Moor on foot, yet such 
was the prowess and address of the latter, that the Chris¬ 
tian knight, being disabled in the arm, was in the utmost 
peril, when his comrades hastened to his assistance. At 
their approach, the valiant pagan retreated slowly up 
the rocks, keeping them at bay, until he found himself 
among his companions. 

Several of the young Spanish cavaliers, stung by the 
triumph of this Moslem knight, would have challenged 



506 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


others of the Moors to single combat; but King Ferdk 
nand prohibited all vaunting encounters of the kind. 
He forbade his troops, also, to provoke skirmishes, well 
knowing that the Moors were more dexterous than most 
people in this irregular mode of fighting, and were better 
acquainted with the ground- 












CHAPTEE LXXYI. 


HOW TWO FRIARS FROM THE HOLT LAND ARRIVED AT THE CAMP. 

the holy Christian army (says Fray An- 
Agapida) was thus beleaguering this in¬ 
city of Baza, there rode into the camp 
one day two reverend friars of the order of St. Francis. 
One was of portly person and authoritative air: he be¬ 
strode a goodly steed, well conditioned and well capari¬ 
soned ; while his companion rode beside him, upon a 
humble hack, poorly accoutered; and, as he rode, he 
scarcely raised his eyes from the ground, but maintained 
a meek and lowly air. 

The arrival of two friars in the camp was not a matter 
of much note, for in these holy wars the church militant 
continually mingled in the affray, and helmet and cowl 
were always seen together; but it was soon discovered 
that these worthy saints-errant were from a far country 
and on a mission of great import. 

They were, in truth, just arrived from the Holy Land, 
being two of the saintly men who kept vigil over the 
sepulchre of our blessed Lord at Jerusalem. He of the 
tall and portly form and commanding presence was Fray 

507 






508 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


Antonio Millan, prior of the Franciscan convent in the 
Holy City. He had a full and florid countenance, a so¬ 
norous, voice and was round, and swelling, and copious in 
his periods, like one accustomed to harangue, and to be 
listened to with deference. His companion was small and 
spare in form, pale of visage, and soft and silken, and al¬ 
most whispering in speech. “He had a humble and 
lowly way,” says Agapida, “ evermore bowing the head, 
as became one of his calling.” Yet he was one of the 
mostactive, zealous, and effective brothers of the con¬ 
vent ; and, when he raised his small black eye from the 
earth, there was a keen glance out of the corner which 
showed that, though harmless as a dove, he was never¬ 
theless aswise as a serpent. 

Those holy men had come on a momentous embassy 
from the grand soldan of Egypt; or, as Agapida terms 
him in the language of the day, the soldan of Babylon. 
The league which had been made between that potentate 
and his arch foe, the Grand Turk Bajazet II., to unite 
in arms for the salvation of Granada, as has been men¬ 
tioned in a previous chapter of this chronicle, had come 
to nought. The infidel princes had again taken up arms 
against each other, and had relapsed into their ancient 
hostility. Still the grand soldan, as head of the whole 
Moslem religion, considered himself bound to preserve 
the kingdom of Granada from the grasp of unbeliev¬ 
ers. He dispatched, therefore, these two holy friars with 
letters to the Castilian sovereigns, as well as to the 


FRIARS FROM THE HOLY LAND. 


509 


Pope and to tlie king of Naples, remonstrating against 
the evil done to the Moors of tlie kingdom of Granada, 
who were of liis faith and kindred; whereas it was well 
known that great numbers of Christians were indulged 
and protected in the full enjoyment of their property, 
their liberty, and their faith in his dominions. He in¬ 
sisted, therefore, that this war should cease; that the 
Moors of Granada should be reinstated in the territory 
of which they had been dispossessed; otherwise he 
threatened to put to death all the Christians beneath 
his sway, to demolish their convents and temples, and 
to destroy the Holy Sepulchre. 

This fearful menace had spread consternation among 
the Christians of Palestine; and when the intrepid Pray 
Antonio Millan and his lowly companion departed on 
their mission, they were accompanied far from the gates 
of Jerusalem by an anxious throng of brethren and dis¬ 
ciples, who remained watching them with tearful eyes as 
long as they were in sight. 

These holy ambassadors were received with great dis¬ 
tinction by King Ferdinand; for men of their cloth had 
ever high honor and consideration in his court. He 
had long and frequent conversations with them about the 
Holy Land; the state of the Christian church in the 
dominions of the grand soldan, and of the policy and 
conduct of that arch infidel towards it. The portly prior 
of the Franciscan convent was full, and round, and ora¬ 
torical in his replies; and the king expressed himself 


510 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


much pleased with the eloquence of his periods; but the 
politic monarch was observed to lend a close and atten¬ 
tive ear to the whispering voice of the lowly companion, 
“ whose discourse,” adds Agapida, “ though modest and 
low, was clear and fluent, and full of subtle wisdom.” 
These holy friars had visited Rome in their journeying, 
where they had delivered the letter of the soldan to the 
sovereign pontiff. His holiness had written by them to 
the Castilian sovereigns, requesting to know what reply 
they had to offer to this demand of the oriental poten¬ 
tate. 

The king of Naples also wrote to them on the subject, 
but in wary terms. He inquired into the cause of this 
war with the Moors of Granada, and expressed great 
marvel at its events, as if (says Agapida) both were not 
notorious throughout all the Christian world. “Nay,” 
adds the worthy friar, with becoming indignation, “he 
uttered opinions savoring of little better than damnable 
heresy; for he observed that, although the Moors were 
of a different sect, they ought not to be maltreated with¬ 
out just cause; and hinted that if the Castilian sovereigns 
did not suffer any crying injury from the Moors, it would 
be improper to do anything which might draw great 
damage upon the Christians; as if, when once the sword 
of the faith was drawn, it ought ever to be sheathed until 
this scum of heathendom were utterly destroyed or 
driven from the land. But this monarch,” he continues, 
“ was more kindly disposed towards the infidels than was 


SENTIMENT OF THE KING OF NAPLES. 511 

honest and lawful in a Christian prince, and was at that 
very time in league with the soldan against their common 
enemy the Grand Turk.” 

These pious sentiments of the truly Catholic Agapida 
are echoed by Padre Mariana, in his history; * but the 
worthy chronicler, Pedro Abarca, attributes the interfer¬ 
ence of the king of Naples, not to lack of orthodoxy in 
religion, but to an excess of worldly policy; he being ap¬ 
prehensive that, should Ferdinand conquer the Moors 
of Granada, he might have time and means to assert a 
claim of the house of Aragon to the crown of Naples.” 

“King Ferdinand,” continues the worthy father Pe¬ 
dro Abarca, “was no less master of dissimulation than 
his cousin of Naples; so he replied to him with the ut¬ 
most suavity of manner, going into a minute and patient 
vindication of the war, and taking great apparent pains to 
inform him of those things which all the world knew, but 
of which the other pretended to be ignorant.” + At the 
same time he soothed his solicitude about the fate of the 
Christians in the empire of the grand soldan, assuring 
him that the great revenue extorted from them in rents 
and tributes would be a certain protection against the 
threatened violence. 

To the pope he made the usual vindication of the war; 
that it was for the recovery of ancient territory, usurped 
by the Moors; for the punishment of wars and violences 

* Mariana, lib. 25, cap. 15. 
f Abarca, Anales de Aragon , Rey xxx., cap. 3. 


512 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


inflicted upon the Christians; and finally, that it was 
a holy crusade for the glory and advancement of the 
church. 

“It was a truly edifying sight,” says Agapida, “to 
behold these friars, after they had had their audience of 
the king, moving about the camp always surrounded by 
nobles and cavaliers of high and martial renown. These 
were insatiable in their questions about the Holy Land, 
and the state of the sepulchre of our Lord, and the suf¬ 
ferings of the devoted brethren who guarded it, and the 
pious pilgrims who resorted there to pay their vows. 
The portly prior of the convent would stand with lofty 
and shining countenance in the midst of these iron war¬ 
riors, and declaim with resounding eloquence on the 
history of the sepulchre; but the humbler brother would 
ever and anon sigh deeply, and in low tones utter some 
tale of suffering and outrage, at which his steel-clad 
hearers would grasp the hilts of their swords and mutter 
between their clenched teeth prayers for another crusade.” 

The pious friars having finished their mission to the 
king, and been treated with all due distinction, took their 
leave, and wended their way to Jaen, to visit the most 
Catholic of queens. Isabella, whose heart was the seat 
of piety, received them as sacred men, invested with 
more than human dignity. During their residence at 
Jaen, they were continually in the royal presence; the 
respectable prior of the convent moved and melted the 
ladies of the court by his florid rhetoric, but his lowly 



DEPARTURE OF TEE FRIARS. 


513 


companion was observed to have continual access to the 
royal ear. That saintly and soft-spoken messenger 
(says Agapida) received the reward of his humility; for 
the queen, moved by his frequent representations, made 
in all modesty and lowliness of spirit, granted a yearly 
sum in perpetuity, of one thousand ducats in gold, for 
the support of the monks of the convent of the Holy 
Sepulchre.* 

Moreover, on the departure of these holy ambassadors, 
the excellent and most Catholic queen delivered to them 
a veil devoutly embroidered with her own royal hands, to 
be placed over the Holy Sepulchre;—a precious and ines¬ 
timable present, which called forth a most eloquent trib¬ 
ute of thanks from the portly prior, but which brought 
tears into the eyes of his lowly companion.t 

* “La Reyna dio a los Frayles mil ducados de renta cado ano para el 
sustento de los religiosos del santo sepulcro, que es la mejor limosna y 
sustento que hasta nuestros dias ha quedado a estos religiosos de Gerusa- 
lem: para donde les dio la Reyna un velo labrado por sus manos, para 
poner encima de la santa sepultura del Senor.”—Garibay, Compend. Hist. 
lib. 18, cap. 36. 

f It is proper to mention the result of this mission of the two friars, and 
which the worthy Agapida has neglected to record. At a subsequent 
period, the Catholic sovereigns sent the distinguished historian, Pietro 
Martyr, of Angleria, as ambassador to the grand soldan. That able man 
made such representations as were perfectly satisfactory to the oriental 
potentate. He also obtained from him the remission of many exactions 
and extortions heretofore practiced upon Christian pilgrims visiting the 
Holy Sepulchre ; which, it is presumed, had been gently but cogently de¬ 
tailed to the monarch by the lowly friar. Pietro Martyr wrote an account 
of his embassy to the grand soldan—a work greatly esteemed by the 
learned, and containing much curious information. It is entitled, De 
Legatione Babylonica . 

33 


CHAPTER LIXm 


HOW QUEEN ISABELLA DEVISED MEANS TO SUPPLY THE ARMY WITH PROVI¬ 
SIONS. 



T has been the custom to laud the conduct and 
address of King Ferdinand, in this most ardu¬ 
ous and protracted war; but the sage Agapida 
is more disposed to give credit to the counsels and meas¬ 
ures of the queen, who, he observes, though less osten¬ 
sible in action, was in truth the very soul, the vital 
principle of this great enterprise. While King Ferdi¬ 
nand was bustling in his camp and making a glittering 
display with his gallant chivalry, she, surrounded by her 
saintly counselors, in the episcopal palace of Jaen, was 
devising ways and means to keep the king and his army 
in existence. She had pledged herself to keep up a 
supply of men, and money, and provisions, until the city 
should be taken. The hardships of the siege caused a 
fearful waste of life, but the supply of men was the least 
difficult part of her undertaking. So beloved was the 
queen by the chivalry of Spain, that on her calling on 
them for assistance, not a grandee or cavalier that yet 
lingered at home, but either repaired in person or sent 

514 





ISABELLA DEVISES WAYS AND MEANS. 515 


forces to the camp; the ancient and warlike families vied 
with each other in marshaling forth their vassals; and 
thus the besieged Moors beheld each day fresh troops 
arriving before their city, and new ensigns and pennons 
displayed, emblazoned with arms well known to the vet¬ 
eran warriors. 

But the most arduous task was to keep up a regular 
supply of provisions. It was not the army alone that 
had to be supported, but also the captured towns and 
their garrisons; for the whole country around them had 
been ravaged, and the conquerors were in danger of 
starving in the midst of the land they had desolated. 
To transport the daily supplies for such immense num¬ 
bers, was a gigantic undertaking, in a country where 
there was neither water conveyance nor roads for car¬ 
riages. Everything had to be borne by beasts of burden 
over rugged and broken paths of the mountains, and 
through dangerous defiles, exposed to the attacks and 
plunderings of the Moors. 

The wary and calculating merchants, accustomed to 
supply the army, shrank from engaging, at their own 
risk, in so hazardous an undertaking. The queen, 
therefore, hired fourteen thousand beasts of burden, 
and ordered all the wheat and barley to be bought up 
in Andalusia, and in the domains of the knights of 
Santiago and Calatrava. She intrusted the administra¬ 
tion of these supplies to able and confidential persons. 
Some were employed to collect the grain; others, to take 


516 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


it to the mills; others, to superintend the grinding and 
delivery; and others, to convey it to the camp. To every 
two hundred animals a muleteer was allotted, to take 
charge of them on the route. Thus, great lines of con¬ 
voys were in constant movement, traversing to and fro, 
guarded by large bodies of troops, to defend them from 
hovering parties of the Moors. Not a single day’s inter¬ 
mission was allowed, for the army depended upon the 
constant arrival of these supplies for daily food. The 
grain, when brought into the camp, was deposited in an 
immense granary, and sold to the army at a fixed price, 
vhich was never either raised or lowered. 

Incredible were the expenses incurred in these sup¬ 
plies ; but the queen had ghostly advisers thoroughly 
versed in the art of getting at the resources of the 
country. Many worthy prelates opened the deep purses 
of the church, and furnished loans from the revenues of 
their diocese and convents; and their pious contributions 
were eventually rewarded by Providence, a hundred-fold. 
Merchants and other wealthy individuals, confident of the 
punctual faith of the queen, advanced large sums on the 
security of her word; many noble families lent their 
plate, without waiting to be asked. The queen also sold 
certain annual rents in inheritance at great sacrifices, as¬ 
signing the revenues of towns and cities for the payment. 
Finding all this insufficient to satisfy the enormous ex¬ 
penditure, she sent her gold and plate and all her jewels 
to the cities of Yalentia and Barcelona, where they were 


SCENE IN THE CAMP. 


517 


pledged for a great amount of money, which was immedi¬ 
ately appropriated to keep up the supplies of the army. 

Thus, through the wonderful activity, judgment, and 
enterprise, of this heroic and magnanimous woman, a 
great host, encamped in the heart of a warlike country, 
accessible only over mountain roads, was maintained in 
continual abundance. Nor was it supplied merely with 
the necessaries and comforts of life. The powerful 
escorts drew merchants and artificers from all parts, to 
repair, as if in caravans, to this great military market. 
In a little while, the camp abounded with tradesmen and 
artists of all kinds, to administer to the luxury and 
ostentation of the youthful chivalry. Here might be 
seen cunning artificers in steel, and accomplished armor¬ 
ers, achieving those rare and sumptuous helmets and 
cuirasses, richly gilt, inlaid, and embossed, in which 
the Spanish cavaliers delighted. Saddlers and harness- 
makers and horse-milliners, also, were there, whose tents 
glittered with gorgeous housings and caparisons. The 
merchants spread forth their sumptuous silks, cloths, 
brocades, fine linen, and tapestry. The tents of the 
nobility were prodigally decorated with all kinds of the 
richest stuffs, and dazzled the eye with their magnifi¬ 
cence : nor could the grave looks and grave speeches of 
King Ferdinand prevent his youthful cavaliers from 
vying with each other in the splendor of their dresses 
and caparisons, on all occasions of parade and ceremony. 



CHAPTER LXXVHL 


OF THE DISASTERS WHICH BEFELL THE CAMP. 


the Christian camp, thus gay and gor- 
spread itself out like a holiday pageant 
e the walls of Baza,—while a long line of 
beasts of burden laden with provisions and luxuries were 
seen descending the valley from morning till night, and 
pouring into the camp a continued stream of abundance, 
—the unfortunate garrison found their resources rapidly 
wasting away, and famine already began to pinch the 
peaceful part of the community. 

Cid Hiaya had acted with great spirit and valor, as 
long as there was any prospect of success ; but he began 
to lose his usual fire and animation, and was observed to 
pace the walls of Baza with a pensive air, casting many a 
wistful look towards the Christian camp, and sinking 
into profound reveries and cogitations. The veteran al- 
cayde, Mohammed Ibn Hassan, noticed these desponding 
moods, and endeavored to rally the spirits of the prince. 
“ The rainy season is at hand,’* would he cry; “ the floods 
will soon pour down from the mountains; the rivers will 
overflow their banks, and inundate the valleys. The 

518 






TEE SOLDIER CITY. 


519 


Christian king already begins to waver; he dare not 
linger, and encounter such a season, in a plain cut up 
by canals and rivulets. A single wintry storm from our 
mountains would wash away his canvas city, and sweep off 
those gay pavilions like wreaths of snow before the blast.” 

The prince Cid Hiaya took heart at these words, and 
counted the days as they passed until the stormy season 
should commence. As he watched the Christian camp, 
he beheld it one morning in universal commotion: there 
was an unusual sound of hammers in every part, as if 
some new engines of war were constructing. At length, 
to his astonishment, the walls and roofs of houses began 
to appear above the bulwarks. In a little while, there 
were above a thousand edifices of wood and plaster 
erected, covered with tiles taken from the demolished 
towers of the orchards, and bearing the pennons of 
various commanders and cavaliers; while the common 
soldiery constructed huts, of clay and branches of trees, 
thatched with straw. Thus, to the dismay of the Moors, 
within four days, the light tents and gay pavilions which 
had whitened their hills and plains, passed away like 
summer clouds; and the unsubstantial camp assumed 
the solid appearance of a city laid out into streets and 
squares. In the centre rose a large edifice, which over¬ 
looked the whole; and the royal standard of Aragon and 
Castile, proudly floating above it, showed it to be the 
palace of the king.* 


* Cura de los Palacios , Pulgar, etc. 


520 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


Ferdinand had taken the sudden resolution thus to 
turn his camp into a city, partly to provide against the 
approaching season, and partly to convince the Moors of 
his fixed determination to continue the siege. In their 
haste to erect their dwellings, however, the Spanish 
cavaliers had not properly considered the nature of the 
climate. For the greater part of the year, there scarcely 
falls a drop of rain on the thirsty soil of Andalusia. The 
ramblas, or dry channels of the torrents, remain deep 
and arid gashes and clefts in the sides of the mountains; 
the perennial streams shrink up to mere threads of 
water, which, tinkling down the bottoms of the deep 
barrancas or ravines, scarce feed and keep alive the 
rivers of the valleys. The rivers, almost lost in their 
wide and naked beds, seem like thirsty rills, winding in 
serpentine mazes through deserts of sand and stones; 
and so shallow and tranquil in their course, as to be 
forded in safety in almost every part. One autumnal 
tempest, however, changes the whole face of nature : the 
clouds break in deluges among the vast congregation of 
mountains; the ramblas are suddenly filled with raging 
floods; the tinkling rivulets swell to thundering tor¬ 
rents, that come roaring down from the mountains, 
tumbling great masses of rocks in their career. The 
late meandering river spreads over its once naked 
bed, lashes its surges against the banks, and rushes 
like a wide and foaming inundation through the val¬ 
ley. 


EFFECTS OF A TEMPEST. 


521 


Scarcely had the Christians finished their slightly- 
built edifices, when an autumnal tempest of the kind 
came scouring from the mountains. The camp was im¬ 
mediately overflowed. Many of the houses, undermined 
by the floods or beaten by the rain, crumbled away and 
fell to the earth, burying man and beast beneath their 
ruins. Several valuable lives were lost, and great num¬ 
bers of horses and other animals perished. To add to 
the distress and confusion of the camp, the daily supply 
of provisions suddenly ceased; for the rain had broken 
up the roads, and rendered the rivers impassable. A 
panic seized upon the army, for the cessation of a single 
day’s supply produced a scarcity of bread and prov¬ 
ender. Fortunately the rain was but transient; the tor¬ 
rents rushed by, and ceased; the rivers shrank back again 
to their narrow channels, and the convoys which had 
been detained upon their banks arrived safely in the 
camp. 

No sooner did Queen Isabella hear of this interrup¬ 
tion of her supplies, than, with her usual vigilance 
and activity, she provided against its recurrence. She 
dispatched six thousand foot-soldiers, under the com¬ 
mand of experienced officers, to repair the roads, and to 
make causeways and bridges for the distance of seven 
Spanish leagues. The troops, also, who had been sta¬ 
tioned in the mountains by the king to guard the defiles, 
made two paths, one for the convoys going to the camp, 
and the other for those returning, that they might not 


522 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


meet and impede each other. The edifices which had 
been demolished by the late floods were rebuilt in a 
firmer manner, and precautions were taken to prevent 
the camp from future inundations. 


CHAPTER LXXIX, 


ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN THE CHRISTIANS AND MOORS BEFORE BAZA 5 AND THE 
DEVOTION OF THE INHABITANTS TO THE DEFENSE OF THEIR CITT. 

HEN King Ferdinand beheld the ravage and 
confusion produced by a single autumnal storm, 
and bethought him of all the maladies to which 
a besieging camp is exposed in inclement seasons, he 
began to feel his compassion kindling for the suffering 
people of Baza, and an inclination to grant them more 
favorable terms. He sent, therefore, several messages 
to the alcayde Mohammed Ibn Hassan, offering liberty 
of person and security of property for the inhabitants, 
and large rewards for himself, if he would surrender the 
city. 

The veteran was not to be dazzled by the splendid 
offers of the monarch; he had received exaggerated ac¬ 
counts of the damage done to the Christian camp by the 
late storm, and of the sufferings and discontents of the 
army in consequence of the transient interruption of 
supplies: he considered the overtures of Ferdinand as 
proofs of the desperate state of his affairs. “A little 
more patience, a little more patience,” said the shrewd 

623 








524 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


old warrior, “and we shall see this crowd of Christian 
locusts driven away before the winter storms. When 
they once turn their backs, it will be our turn to strike; 
and, with the help of Allah, the blow shall be decisive.” 
He sent a firm though courteous refusal to the Castilian 
monarch, and in the meantime animated his companions 
to sally forth with more spirit than ever, to attack the 
Spanish outposts and those laboring in the trenches. 
The consequence was a daily occurrence of daring and 
bloody skirmishes, that cost the lives of many of the 
bravest and most adventurous cavaliers of either army. 

In one of these sallies, nearly three hundred horse and 
two thousand foot mounted the heights behind the city, 
to capture the Christians who were employed upon the 
works. They came by surprise upon a body of guards, 
esquires of the count de Urena, killed some, put the rest 
to flight, and pursued them down the mountain, until 
they came in sight of a small force under the count de 
Tendilla and Gonsalvo of Cordova. The Moors came 
rushing down with such fury that many of the men of 
the count de Tendilla took to flight. The count braced 
his buckler, grasped his trusty weapon, and stood his 
ground with his accustomed prowess. Gonsalvo of Cor¬ 
dova ranged himself by his side, and, marshaling the 
troops which remained with them, they made a valiant 
front to the Moors. 

The infidels pressed them hard, and were gaining 
the advantage, when Alonzo de Aguilar, hearing of the 


TEE PRINCE'S LEVY. 


525 


danger of his brother Gonsalvo, flew to his assistance, 
accompanied by the count of Ureha and a body of their 
troops. A fight ensued, from cliff to cliff and glen to 
glen. The Moors were fewer in number, but excelled 
in the dexterity and lightness requisite for scrambling 
skirmishes. They were at length driven from their van¬ 
tage-ground, and pursued by Alonzo de Aguilar and his 
brother Gonsalvo to the very suburbs of the city, leaving 
many of their bravest men upon the field. 

Such was one of innumerable rough encounters daily 
taking place, in which many brave cavaliers were slain, 
without apparent benefit to either party. The Moors, 
notwithstanding repeated defeats and losses, continued 
to sally forth daily with astonishing spirit and vigor, and 
the obstinacy of their defense seemed to increase with 
their sufferings. 

The prince Cid Hiaya was ever foremost in these sal¬ 
lies, but grew daily more despairing of success. All the 
money in the military chest was expended, and there was 
no longer wherewithal to pay the hired troops. Still the 
veteran Mohammed undertook to provide for this emer¬ 
gency. Summoning the principal inhabitants, he repre¬ 
sented the necessity of some exertion and sacrifice on 
their part to maintain the defense of the city. “ The 
enemy,” said he, “dreads the approach of winter, and 
our perseverance drives him to despair. A little longer, 
and he will leave you in quiet enjoyment of your homes 
and families. But our troops must be paid, to keep 



526 


CONQUEST OF OBAN ABA. 


them in good heart. Our money is exhausted, and all 
our supplies are cut off. It is impossible to continue 
our defense, without your aid.” 

Upon this the citizens consulted together, and col¬ 
lected all their vessels of gold and silver, and brought 
them to Mohammed: “Take these,” said they, “ and coin, 
or sell, or pledge them, for money wherewith to pay the 
troops.” The women of Baza also were seized with 
generous emulation : “ Shall we deck ourselves with gor¬ 
geous apparel,” said they, “ when our country is deso¬ 
late, and its defenders in want of bread? ” So they took 
their collars, and bracelets, and anklets, and other orna¬ 
ments of gold, and all their jewels, and put them in the 
hands of the veteran alcayde : “ Take these spoils of our 
vanity,” said they, “and let them contribute to the de¬ 
fense of our homes and families. If Baza be delivered, 
we need no jewels to grace our rejoicing; and if Baza 
fall, of what avail are ornaments to the captive ? ” 

By these contributions was Mohammed enabled to pay 
the soldiery, and carry on the defense of the city with 
unabated spirit. 

Tidings were speedily conveyed to king Ferdinand, of 
this generous devotion on the part of the people of Baza, 
and the hopes which the Moorish commanders gave 
them that the Christian army would soon abandon the 
siege in despair. “ They shall have a convincing proof 
of the fallacy of such hopes,” said the politic monarch: 
so he wrote forthwith to Queen Isabella, praying her to 


THE CITIZENS' CONTRIBUTIONS. 


527 


come to the camp in state, with all her train and retinue, 
and publicly to take up her residence there for the win¬ 
ter. By this means the Moors would be convinced of 
the settled determination of the sovereigns to persist in 
the siege until the city should surrender, and he trusted 
they would be brought to speedy capitulation. 



CHAPTER LXXX. 


HOW QUEEN ISABELLA ARRIVED AT THE CAMP, AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF 
HER ARRIVAL. 



OHAMMED IBN HASSAN still encouraged 
his companions with hopes that the royal army 
would soon relinquish the siege; when they 
heard, one day, shouts of joy from the Christian camp, 
and thundering salvos of artillery. Word was brought, 
at the same time, from the sentinels on the watch-towers, 
that a Christian army was approaching down the valley. 
Mohammed and his fellow-commanders ascended one of 
the highest towers of the walls, and beheld in truth a 
numerous force, in shining array, descending the hills, 
and heard the distant clangor of the trumpet and the 
faint swell of triumphant music. 

As the host drew nearer, they descried a stately dame 
magnificently attired, whom they soon discovered to be 
the queen. She was riding on a mule, the sumptuous 
trappings of which were resplendent with gold, and 
reached to the ground. On her right hand rode her 
daughter, the princess Isabella, equally splendid in her 

array; and on her left the venerable grand cardinal of 

528 






ARRIVAL OF THE QUEEN. 


529 


Spain. A noble train of ladies and cavaliers followed, 
together with pages and esquires, and a numerous guard 
of hidalgos of high rank, arrayed in superb armor. 
When the veteran Mohammed beheld the queen thus 
arriving in state to take up her residence in the camp, he 
shook his head mournfully, and, turning to his captains, 
“Cavaliers,” said he, “the fate of Baza is decided.” 

The Moorish commanders remained gazing with a 
mingled feeling of grief and admiration at this magnifi¬ 
cent pageant, which foreboded the fall of their city. 
Some of the troops would have sallied forth on one of 
their desperate skirmishes to attack the royal guard; but 
the prince Cid Hiaya forbade them; nor would he allow 
any artillery to be discharged, or any molestation or 
insult offered; for the character of Isabella was vener¬ 
ated even by the Moors; and most of the commanders 
possessed that high and chivalrous courtesy which be¬ 
longs to heroic spirits—for they were among the noblest 
and bravest of the Moorish cavaliers. 

The inhabitants of Baza eagerly sought every emi¬ 
nence that could command a view of the plain; and every 
battlement, and tower, and mosque, was covered with 
turbaned heads gazing at the glorious spectacle. They 
beheld king Ferdinand issue forth in royal state, at¬ 
tended by the marques of Cadiz, the master of Santiago, 
the duke of Alva, the admiral of Castile, and many other 
nobles of renown; while the whole chivalry of the camp, 
sumptuously arrayed, followed in his train, and the pop- 
34 


530 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


ulace rent the air with acclamations at the sight of the 
patriot queen. 

When the sovereigns had met and embraced, the two 
hosts mingled together and entered the camp in martial 
pomp ; and the eyes of the infidel beholders were dazzled 
by the flash of armor, the splendor of golden caparisons, 
the gorgeous display of silks, brocades, and velvets, of 
tossing plumes and fluttering banners. There was at the 
same time a triumphant sound of drums and trumpets, 
clarions and sackbuts, mingled with the sweet melody of 
the dulcimer, which came swelling in bursts of harmony 
that seemed to rise up to the heavens.* 

On the arrival of the queen (says the historian Her¬ 
nando del Pulgar, who was present at the time), it was 
marvelous to behold how all at once the rigor and tur¬ 
bulence of war were softened, and the storm of passion 
sank into a calm. The sword was sheathed; the cross¬ 
bow no longer launched its deadly shafts ; and the artil¬ 
lery, which had hitherto kept up an incessant uproar, 
now ceased its thundering. On both sides there was 
still a vigilant guard kept up ; the sentinels bristled the 
walls of Baza with their lances, and the guards patrolled 
the Christian camp; but there was no sallying forth to 
skirmish, nor any wanton violence or carnage.t 

* Cura de los Palacios, cap. 92. 

f Many particulars of the scenes and occurrences at the siege of Baza 
are also furnished in the letters of the learned Peter Martyr* who was 
present, and an admiring eye-witness. 


PRINCE CID HIA TA ASKS FOR A PARLEY. 531 


Prince Cid Hiaya saw, by the arrival of the queen, that 
the Christians were determined to continue the siege, 
and he knew that the city would have to capitulate. He 
had been prodigal of the lives of his soldiers, as long as 
he thought a military good was to be gained by the sacri¬ 
fice ; but he was sparing of their blood in a hopeless 
cause, and weary of exasperating the enemy by an obsti¬ 
nate yet hopeless defense. 

At the request of the prince, a parley was granted, and 
the master commander of Leon, Don Gutierrez de Car¬ 
denas, was appointed to confer with the veteran alcayde 
Mohammed. They met at an appointed place, within 
view of both camp and city, attended by cavaliers of 
either army. Their meeting was highly courteous, for 
they had learned, from rough encounters in the field, to 
admire each other’s prowess. The commander of Leon, 
in an earnest speech, pointed out the hopelessness of any 
further defense, and warned Mohammed of the ills which 
Malaga had incurred by its obstinacy. “I promise in 
the name of my sovereigns,” said he, “ that if you sur¬ 
render immediately, the inhabitants shall be treated as 
subjects, and protected in property, liberty, and religion. 
If you refuse, you, who are now renowned as an able and 
judicious commander, will be chargeable with the con¬ 
fiscations, captivities, and deaths which may be suffered 
by the people of Baza.” 

The commander ceased, and Mohammed returned to 
the city to consult with his companions. It was evident 



532 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


that all further resistance was hopeless ; but the Moor¬ 
ish commanders felt that a cloud might rest upon their 
names, should they, of their own discretion, surrender so 
important a place without its having sustained an as¬ 
sault. Prince Cid Hiaya requested permission, therefore, 
to send an envoy to Guadix, with a letter to the old mon¬ 
arch El Zagal, treating of the surrender; the request 
was granted, a safe conduct assured to the envoy, and 
Mohammed Ibn Hassan departed upon this momentous 
mission. 


CHAPTER LXXXL 


SURRENDER OF BAZA. 

HE old warrior king was seated in an inner 
chamber of the castle of Guadix, much cast 
down in spirit, and ruminating on his gloomy 
fortunes, when an envoy from Baza was announced, and 
the veteran alcayde Mohammed stood before him. El 
Zagal saw disastrous tidings written in his countenance : 
“ How fares it with Baza ? ” said he, summoning up his 
spirits to the question. “ Let this inform thee,” replied 
Mohammed; and he delivered into his hands the letter 
from the prince Cid Hiaya. 

The letter spoke of the desperate situation of Baza; 
the impossibility of holding out longer, without assist¬ 
ance from El Zagal; and the favorable terms held out by 
the Castilian sovereigns. Had it been written by any 
other person, El Zagal might have received it with dis¬ 
trust and indignation; but he confided in Cid Hiaya as 
in a second self, and the words of his letter sank deep in 
his heart. When he had finished reading it, he sighed 
deeply, and remained for some time lost in thought, with 
his head drooping upon his bosom. Recovering himself 

533 









534 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


at length, he called together the alfaquis and the old men 
of Guadix, and solicited their advice. It was a sign of 
sore trouble of mind and dejection of heart, when El 
Zagal sought the advice of others; but his fierce courage 
was tamed, for he saw the end of his power approaching. 
The alfaquis and the old men did but increase the dis¬ 
traction of his mind by a variety of counsel, none of 
which appeared of any avail; for unless Baza were suc¬ 
cored, it was impossible that it should hold out; and 
every attempt to succor it had proved ineffectual. 

El Zagal dismissed his council in despair, and sum¬ 
moned the veteran Mohammed before him. “God is 
great,” exclaimed he; “ there is but one God, and Ma¬ 
homet is his prophet! Return to my cousin, Cid Hiaya; 
tell him it is out of my power to aid him; he must do as 
seems to him for the best. The people of Baza have 
performed deeds worthy of immortal fame ; I cannot ask 
them to encounter further ills and perils, in maintaining 
a hopeless defense.” 

The reply of El Zagal determined the fate of the city. 
Cid Hiaya and his fellow-commanders capitulated, and 
were granted the most favorable terms. The cavaliers 
and soldiers who had come from other parts to the de¬ 
fense of the place were permitted to depart with their 
arms, horses, and effects. The inhabitants had their 
choice, either to depart with their property, or dwell in 
the suburbs, in the enjoyment of their religion and laws, 
taking an oath of fealty to the sovereigns, and paying the 


BAZA SURRENDERED. 


535 


same tribute they had paid to the Moorish kings. The 
city and citadel were to be delivered up in six days, 
within which period the inhabitants were to remove all 
their effects; and in the meantime they were to place, as 
hostages, fifteen Moorish youths, sons of the principal in¬ 
habitants, in the hands of the commander of Leon. When 
Cid Hiaya and the alcayde Mohammed came to deliver 
up the hostages, among whom were the sons of the 
latter, they paid homage to the king and queen, who 
received them with the utmost courtesy and kindness, 
and ordered magnificent presents to be given to them, 
and likewise to the other Moorish cavaliers, consisting 
of money, robes, horses, and other things of great value. 

The prince Cid Hiaya was so captivated by the grace, 
the dignity, and generosity of Isabella, and the princely 
courtesy of Ferdinand, that he vowed never again to 
draw his sword against such magnanimous sovereigns. 
The queen, charmed with his gallant bearing and his 
animated professions of devotion, assured him that, hav¬ 
ing him on her side, she already considered the war ter¬ 
minated which had desolated the kingdom of Granada. 

Mighty and irresistible are the words of praise from 
the lips of sovereigns. Cid Hiaya was entirely sub¬ 
dued by this fair speech from the illustrious Isabella. 
His heart burned with a sudden flame of loyalty towards 
the sovereigns. He begged to be enrolled amongst the 
most devoted of their subjects; and, in the fervor of 
his sudden zeal, engaged not merely to dedicate his 



536 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


sword to their service, but to exert all his influence, 
which was great, in persuading his cousin, Muley Ab¬ 
dallah el Zagal, to surrender the cities of Guadix and 
Almeria, and to give up all further hostilities. Nay, so 
powerful was the effect produced upon his mind by his 
conversation with the sovereigns, that it extended even 
to his religion; for he became immediately enlightened 
as to the heathenish abominations of the vile sect of 
Mahomet, and struck with the truths of Christianity, as 
illustrated by such powerful monarchs. He consented, 
therefore, to be baptized, and to be gathered into the 
fold of the church. The pious Agapida indulges in a 
triumphant strain of exultation on the sudden and sur¬ 
prising conversion of this princely infidel: he considers 
it one of the greatest achievements of the Catholic sov¬ 
ereigns, and, indeed, one of the marvelous occurrences 
of this holy war. “But it is given to saints and pious 
monarchs,” says he, “to work miracles in the cause of 
the faith; and such did the most Catholic Ferdinand in 
the conversion of the prince Cid Hiaya.” 

Some of the Arabian writers have sought to lessen the 
wonder of this miracle, by alluding to great revenues 
granted to the Prince and his heirs by the Castilian 
monarchs, together with a territory in Marchena, with 
towns, lands, and vassals; but in this (says Agapida) we 
only see a wise precaution of king Ferdinand to clinch 
and secure the conversion of his proselyte. The policy 
of the Catholic monarch was at all times equal to his 


BAPTISM OF GID HIAYA. 


537 


piety. Instead, also, of vaunting of this great conver¬ 
sion, and making a public parade of the entry of the 
prince into the church, King Ferdinand ordered that the 
baptism should be performed in private, and kept a pro¬ 
found secret. He feared that Cid Hiaya might other¬ 
wise be denounced as an apostate, and abhorred and 
abandoned by the Moors, and thus his influence de¬ 
stroyed in bringing the war to a speedy termination.* 

The veteran Mohammed Ibn Hassan was likewise won 
by the magnanimity and munificence of the Castilian sov¬ 
ereigns, and entreated to be received into their service; 
and his example was followed by many other Moorish 
cavaliers, whose services were generously accepted and 
magnificently rewarded. 

Thus, after a siege of six months and twenty days, the 
city of Baza surrendered on the 4th of December, 1489; 
the festival of the glorious Santa Barbara, who is said, 
in the Catholic calendar, to preside over thunder and 
lightning, fire and gunpowder, and all kinds of combus- 
tious explosions. The king and queen made their solemn 
and triumphant entry on the following day; and the pub¬ 
lic joy was heightened by the sight of upwards of five 
hundred Christian captives, men, women, and children, 
delivered from the Moorish dungeons. 

The loss of the Christians in this siege amounted to 
twenty thousand men, of whom seventeen thousand died 


* Conde. tom. 3, cap. 40. 



538 


CONQUEST OF OBAN AD A. 


of disease, and not a few of mere cold—a kind of death 
(says the historian Mariana) peculiarly uncomfortable; 
but (adds the venerable Jesuit), as these latter were 
chiefly people of ignoble rank, baggage-carriers and such 
like, the loss was not of great importance. 

The surrender of Baza was followed by that of Almu- 
necar, Tavernas, and most of the fortresses of the Alpux- 
arra mountains; the inhabitants hoped, by prompt and 
voluntary submission, to secure equally favorable terms 
with those granted to the captured city, and the alcaydes 
to receive similar rewards to those lavished on its com¬ 
manders; nor were either of them disappointed. The 
inhabitants were permitted to remain as Mudexares, in 
the quiet enjoyment of their property and religion; and 
as to the alcaydes, when they came to the camp to ren¬ 
der up their charges, they were received by Ferdinand 
with distinguished favor, and rewarded with presents of 
money in proportion to the importance of the places they 
had commanded. Care was taken by the politic mon¬ 
arch, however, not to wound their pride nor shock their 
delicacy ; so these sums were paid under color of arrears 
due to them for their services to the former government. 
Ferdinand had conquered by dint of sword, in the earlier 
part of the war; but he found gold as potent as steel, in 
this campaign of Baza. 

With several of these mercenary chieftains came one 
named Ali Aben Fahar, a seasoned warrior, who had 
held many important commands. He was a Moor of a 


ALI ABEN FAHAB. 


539 


lofty, stern, and melancholy aspect, and stood silent and 
apart, while his companions surrendered their several 
fortresses and retired laden with treasure. When it 
came to his turn to speak, he addressed the sovereigns 
with the frankness of a soldier, but with the tone of de¬ 
jection and despair. 

“ I am a Moor,” said he, “ and of Moorish lineage, and 
am alcayde of the fair towns and castles of Purchena 
and Paterna. These were intrusted to me to defend; 
but those who should have stood by me have lost all 
strength and courage, and seek only for security. These 
fortresses, therefore, most potent sovereigns, are yours, 
whenever you will send to take possession of them.” 

Large sums of gold were immediately ordered by Fer¬ 
dinand to be delivered to the alcayde, as a recompense 
for so important a surrender. The Moor, however, put 
back the gift with a firm and dignified demeanor: “ I 
came not,” said he, “ to sell what is not mine, but to 
yield what fortune has made yours; and your majesties 
may rest assured that, had I been properly seconded, 
death would have been the price at which I would have 
sold my fortresses, and not the gold you offer me.” 

The Castilian monarchs were struck with the lofty and 
loyal spirit of the Moor, and desired to engage a man of 
such fidelity in their service; but the proud Moslem 
could not be induced to serve the enemies of his nation 
and his faith. 

“ Is there nothing, then,” said Queen Isabella, “ that 


540 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


we can do to gratify thee, and to prove to thee our re¬ 
gard ? ” “ Yes,” replied the Moor ; “ I have left behind 

me, in the towns and valleys which I have surrendered, 
many of my unhappy countrymen, with their wives and 
children, who cannot tear themselves from their native 
abodes. Give me your royal word that they shall be 
protected in the peaceable enjoyment of their religion 
and their homes.” “ We promise it,” said Isabella; 
“ they shall dwell in peace and security. But for thyself 
—what dost thou ask for thyself ? ” “ Nothing,” replied 

Ali, “ but permission to pass unmolested, with my horses 
and effects, into Africa.” 

The Castilian monarchs would fain have forced upon 
him gold and silver, and superb horses richly capari¬ 
soned, not as rewards, but as marks of personal esteem; 
but Ali Aben Fahar declined all presents and distinc¬ 
tions, as if he thought it criminal to flourish individually 
during a time of public distress; and disdained all prosper¬ 
ity, that seemed to grow out of the ruins of his country. 

Having received a royal passport, he gathered together 
his horses and servants, his armor and weapons, and all 
his warlike effects; bade adieu to his weeping country¬ 
men with a brow stamped with anguish, but without 
shedding a tear; and, mounting his Barbary steed, turned 
his back upon the delightful valleys of his conquered 
country, departing on his lonely way, to seek a soldier’s 
fortune amidst the burning sands of Africa.* 

* Pulgar, pt. 3, cap. 124. Garibay, lib. 40, cap. 40. Cura de los Palacios* 


CHAPTER LXXXH. 


SUBMISSION OF EL ZAGAL TO THE CASTILIAN SOVEREIGNS. 

[ •W.^ l il^IL tidings never fail by the way, through lack 
jjggpiijira of messengers; they are wafted on the wings 
: of the wind, and it is as if the very birds of the 
air would bear them to the ear of the unfortunate. The 
old king El Zagal buried himself in the recesses of his 
castle, to hide himself from the light of day, which no 
longer shone prosperously upon him; but every hour 
brought missives thundering at the gate, with the tale 
of some new disaster. Fortress after fortress had laid 
its keys at the feet of the Christian sovereigns: strip by 
strip, of warrior mountain and green fruitful valley, was 
torn from his domains, and added to the territories of 
the conquerors. Scarcely a remnant remained to him, 
except a tract of the Alpuxarras, and the noble cities of 
Guadix and Almeria. No one any longer stood in awe 
of the fierce old monarch; the terror of his frown had 
declined with his power. He had arrived at that state 
of adversity, when a man’s friends feel emboldened to 
tell him hard truths, and to give him unpalatable advice; 

541 









542 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


and when his spirit is bowed down to listen quietly, if 
not meekly. 

El Zagal was seated on his divan, his whole spirit 
absorbed in rumination on the transitory nature of 
human glory, when his kinsman and brother-in-law, the 
prince Cid Hiaya, was announced. That illustrious con¬ 
vert to the true faith and the interests of the conquerors 
of his country, had hastened to Guadix with all the 
fervor of a new proselyte, eager to prove his zeal in the 
service of Heaven and the Castilian sovereigns, by per¬ 
suading the old monarch to abjure his faith and surren¬ 
der his possessions. 

Cid Hiaya still bore the guise of a Moslem, for his 
conversion was as yet a secret. The stern heart of El 
Zagal softened at beholding the face of a kinsman, in this 
hour of adversity. He folded his cousin to his bosom, 
and gave thanks to Allah that amidst all his troubles he 
had still a friend and counselor on whom he might rely. 

Cid Hiaya soon entered upon the real purpose of his 
mission. He represented to El Zagal the desperate 
state of affairs, and the irretrievable decline of Moorish 
power in the kingdom of Granada. “ Fate,” said he, “ is 
against our arms; our ruin is written in the heavens. 
Remember the prediction of the astrologers, at the birth 
of your nephew Boabdil. We hoped that their predic¬ 
tion was accomplished by his capture at Lucena; but it 
is now evident that the stars portended not a temporary 
and passing reverse of the kingdom, but a final over~ 


ARGUMENTS OF OLD EIAYA. 


543 


throw. The constant succession of disasters which have 
attended our efforts, show that the sceptre of Granada is 
doomed to pass into the hands of the Christian mon- 
archs. Such,” concluded the prince emphatically, and 
with a profound and pious reverence, “such is the al¬ 
mighty will of God! ” 

El Zagal listened to these words in mute attention, 
without so much as moving a muscle of his face, or 
winking an eyelid. When the prince had concluded, he 
remained for a long time silent and pensive; at length, 
heaving a profound sigh from the very bottom of his 
heart, “Alahuma subahana hu! ” exclaimed he, “the will 
of God be done ! Yes, my cousin, it is but too evident 
that such is the will of Allah; and what he wills, he 
fails not to accomplish. Had he not decreed the fall of 
Granada, this arm and this scimetar would have main¬ 
tained it.”* 

“ What then remains,” said Cid Hiaya, “ but to draw 
the most advantage from the wreck of empire left to 
you ? To persist in a war is to bring complete desola¬ 
tion upon the land, and ruin and death upon its faithful 
inhabitants. Are you disposed to yield up your remain¬ 
ing towns to your nephew El Chico, that they may aug¬ 
ment his power, and derive protection from his alliance 
with the Christian sovereigns?” 

The eye of El Zagal flashed fire at this suggestion. 


* Conde, tom. 3, cap. 40. 






544 


CONQUEST OF OR AN AD A. 


He grasped the hilt of his scimetar, and gnashed his 
teeth in fury. “ Never,” cried he, “ will I make terms 
with that recreant and slave! Sooner would I see the 
banners of the Christian monarchs floating above my 
walls, than they should add to the possessions of the 
vassal Boabdil! ” 

Cid Hiaya immediately seized upon this idea, and 
urged El Zagal to make a frank and entire surrender: 
“ Trust,” said he, “ to the magnanimity of the Castilian 
sovereigns ; they will doubtless grant you high and hon¬ 
orable terms. It is better to yield to them as friends, 
what they must infallibly and before long wrest from 
you as enemies; for such, my cousin, is the almighty 
will of God ! ” 

“ Alahuma subahana hu! ” repeated El Zagal, “ the 
will of God be done! ” So the old monarch bowed his 
haughty neck, and agreed to surrender his territories 
to the enemies of his faith, rather than suffer them 
to augment the Moslem power under the sway of his 
nephew. 

Cid Hiaya now returned to Baza, empowered by El Za¬ 
gal to treat on his behalf with the Christian sovereigns. 
The prince felt a species of exultation, as he expatiated 
on the rich relics of empire which he was authorized to 
cede. There was a great part of that line of mountains 
extending from the metropolis to the Mediterranean sea, 
with their series of beautiful green valleys, like precious 
emeralds set in a golden chain. Above all, there were 


SUBMISSION OF EL ZAOAL. 


545 


Guadix and Almeria, two of the most inestimable jewels 
in the crown of Granada. 

In return for these possessions, and for the claim of 
El Zagal to the rest of the kingdom, the sovereigns 
received him into their friendship and alliance, and gave 
him in perpetual inheritance the territory of Andarax 
and the valley of Alhaurin in the Alpuxarras, with the 
fourth part of the salinas or salt-pits of Malaha. He 
was to enjoy the title of king of Andarax, with two thou¬ 
sand Mudexares, or conquered Moors, for subjects; and 
his revenues were to be made up to the sum of four 
millions of marevedis. All these he was to hold as a 
vassal of the Castilian crown. 

These arrangements being made, Cid Hiaya returned 
with them to Muley Abdallah; and it was concerted that 
the ceremony of surrender and homage should take place 
at the city of Almeria. 

On the 17th of December King Ferdinand departed 
for that city. Cid Hiaya and his principal officers, in¬ 
corporated with a division commanded by the count de 
Tendilla, marched in the van-guard. The king was with 
the centre of the army, and the queen with the rear¬ 
guard. In this martial state Ferdinand passed by 
several of the newly acquired towns, exulting in these 
trophies of his policy rather than his valor. In tra¬ 
versing the mountainous region, which extends towards 
the Mediterranean, the army suffered exceedingly from 
raging vandavales, or southwest gales, accompanied by 
35 




546 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


snow-storms. Several of the soldiers and many horses 
and beasts of burden, perished with the cold. One of 
the divisions under the marques of Cadiz, found it im¬ 
possible to traverse in one day the frozen summits of 
Eilabres, and had to pass the night in those inclement 
regions. The marques caused two immense fires to be 
kindled in the vicinity of his encampment to guide and 
enlighten those lost and wandering among the defiles, 
and to warm those who were benumbed and almost 
frozen. 

The king halted at Tavernas, to collect his scattered 
troops and give them time to breathe after the hardships 
of the mountains. The queen was travelling a day’s 
march in the rear. 

On the 21st of December, the king arrived and en¬ 
camped in the vicinity of Almeria. Understanding that 
El Zagal was sallying forth to pay him homage, according 
to appointment, he mounted on horseback and rode -forth 
to receive him, attended by Don Alonzo de Cardenas, 
master of Santiago, on his right hand, and the marques 
of Cadiz on his left, and dispatched in the advance Don 
Gutierrez de Cardenas, commander of Leon, and other 
cavaliers to meet and form an honorable escort to the 
Moorish monarch. With this escort went that curious 
eye-witness, Peter Martyr, from whom we have many of 
these particulars. 

El Zagal was accompanied by twelve cavaliers on 
horseback, among whom was his cousin, the prince Cid 


APPEARANCE OF EL ZAGAL. 


547 


Hiaya (who had no doubt joined him from the Spanish 
camp) and the brave Reduan Vanegas. Peter Martyr de¬ 
clares that the appearance of El Zagal touched him with 
compassion, for though a “lawless barbarian, he was a 
king, and had given signal proofs of heroism.” The his¬ 
torian Palencia gives us a particular description of his 
appearance. He was, says he, of elevated stature and 
well proportioned, neither robust nor meagre; the natu¬ 
ral fairness of his countenance was increased by an ex¬ 
treme paleness which gave it a melancholy expression. 
His aspect was grave; his movements were quiet, noble, 
and dignified. He was modestly attired in a garb of 
mourning, a sayo, or loose surcoat, of dark cloth, a sim¬ 
ple albornoz or Moorish mantle, and a turban of dazzling 
whiteness. 

On being met by the commander, Gutierrez de Carde¬ 
nas, El Zagal saluted him courteously, as well as the cav¬ 
aliers who accompanied him, and rode on, conversing 
with him through the medium of interpreters. Behold¬ 
ing King Ferdinand and his splendid train at a distance, 
he alighted and advanced towards him on foot. The 
punctilious Ferdinand supposing this voluntary act of 
humiliation had been imposed by Don Gutierrez, told 
that cavalier, with some asperity, that it was an act of 
great discourtesy to cause a vanquished king to alight be¬ 
fore another king who was victorious. At the same time 
he made him signs to remount his horse and place him¬ 
self by his side. El Zagal, persisting in his act of horn- 


548 


CONQUEST OF OBAN AD A. 


age, offered to kiss the king’s hand; but being prevented 
by that monarch, he kissed his own hand, as the Moorish 
cavaliers were accustomed to do in presence of their sov¬ 
ereigns; and accompanied the gesture by a few words 
expressive of obedience and fealty. Ferdinand replied in 
a gracious and amiable manner; and causing him to 
remount and place himself on his left hand, they pro¬ 
ceeded, followed by the whole train to the royal pavilion, 
pitched in the most conspicuous part of the camp. 

There a banquet was served up to the two kings, ac¬ 
cording to the rigorous style and etiquette of the Spanish 
court. They were seated in two chairs of state under the 
same canopy, El Zagal on the left hand of Ferdinand. 
The cavaliers and courtiers admitted to the royal pavil¬ 
ion remained standing. The count de Tendilla served 
the viands to King Ferdinand in golden dishes, and the 
count Cifuentes gave him to drink out of cups of the 
same precious metal; Don Alvara Bazan and Garcilasso 
de la Vega performed the same offices in similar style 
and with vessels of equal richness, to the Moorish mon¬ 
arch. 

The banquet ended, El Zagal took courteous leave of 
Ferdinand, and sallied from the pavilion attended by the 
cavaliers who had been present. Each of these now 
made himself known to the old monarch by his name, 
title or dignity, and each received an affable gesture in 
reply. They would all have escorted the old king back 
to the gates of Almeria, but he insisted on their remain- 


FERDINAND'S ENTRY INTO ALMERIA. 549 

ing in the camp, and with difficulty could be persuaded 
upon to accept the honorable attendance of the marques 
of Yillena, the commander, Don Gutierrez de Cardenas, 
the count de Cifuentes, and Don Luis Puerto Carrero. 

On the following morning (22d December), the troops 
were all drawn out in splendid array in front of the 
camp, awaiting the signal of the formal surrender of the 
city. This was given at midday, when the gates were 
thrown open and a corps marched in, led by Don Gutier¬ 
rez de Cardenas, who had been appointed governor. In 
a little while the gleam of Christian warriors was seen on 
the walls and bulwarks; the blessed cross was planted in 
place of the standard of Mahomet, and the banner of the 
sovereigns floated triumphantly above the Alcazar. At 
the same time a numerous deputation of alfaquis and the 
noblest and wealthiest inhabitants of the place sallied 
forth to pay homage to King Ferdinand. 

On the 23d of December, the king himself entered the 
city with grand military and religious pomp, and repaired 
to the mosque of the castle, which had been previously 
purified and sanctified and converted into a Christian 
temple ; here grand mass 1 was performed in solemn cele¬ 
bration of this great triumph of the faith. 

These ceremonies were scarcely completed, when joyful 
notice was given of the approach of the queen Isabella, 
with the rear-guard of the army. She came accompanied 
by the princess Isabella, and attended by her ghostly 
counselor, the cardinal Mendoza, and her confessor, Tal- 


550 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


avera. The king sallied forth to meet her, accompanied 
by El Zagal, and it is said the reception of the latter 
by the queen was characterized by that deference and 
considerate delicacy which belonged to her magnanimous 
nature. 

The surrender of Almeria was followed by that of 
Almunecar, Salobrina, and other fortified places of the 
coast and the interior, and detachments of Christian 
troops took quiet possession of the Alpuxarra mountains 
and their secluded and fertile valleys.* 

* Cura de los Palacios, cap. 93, 94. Pulgar, Cron. pt. 3, cap. 134 
Garibay, Comp. Hist. lib. 18, cap. 37, &c., &c. 


CHAPTER LXXXICL 


EVENTS AT GRANADA, SUBSEQUENT TO THE SUBMISSION OF EL ZAGAL. 



HO can tell when to rejoice, in this fluctuating 
world? Every wave of prosperity has its re¬ 
acting surge, and we are often overwhelmed by 
the very billow on which we thought to be wafted into 
the haven of our hopes. When Yusef Aben Comixa, the 
vizier of Boabdil, surnamed El Chico, entered the royal 
saloon of the Alhambra and announced the capitulation 
of El Zagal, the heart of the youthful monarch leaped for 
joy. His great wish was accomplished; his uncle was 
defeated and dethroned, and he reigned without a rival, 
sole monarch of Granada. At length, he was about to 
enjoy the fruits of his humiliation and vassalage. He 
beheld his throne fortified by the friendship and alliance 
of the Castilian monarchs; there could be no question, 
therefore, of its stability. “ Allah Aclibar! God is 
great!” exclaimed he; “Kejoice with me, O Yusef; the 
stars have ceased their persecution. Henceforth let no 
man call me El Zogoybi.” 

In the first moment of his exultation, Boabdil would 
have ordered public rejoicings; but the shrewd Yusef 

551 





552 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


shook his head. “The tempest has ceased, from one 
point of the heavens,” said he, “ but it may begin to rage 
from another. A troubled sea is beneath us, and we are 
surrounded by rocks and quicksands: let my lord the 
king defer rejoicings, until all has settled into a calm.” 
El Chico, however, could not remain tranquil in this day 
of exultation: he ordered his steed to be sumptuously 
caparisoned, and issuing out of the gate of the Alhambra, 
descended, with glittering retinue, along the avenue of 
trees and fountains, into the city, to receive the acclama¬ 
tions of the populace. As he entered the great square 
of the Yivarrambla, he beheld crowds of people in vio¬ 
lent agitation; but, as he approached, what was his sur¬ 
prise, to hear groans and murmurs and bursts of execra¬ 
tion! The tidings had spread through Granada, that 
Muley Abdallah El Zagal had been driven to capitulate, 
and that all his territories had fallen into the hands of 
the Christians. No one had inquired into the particu¬ 
lars, but all Granada had been thrown into a ferment of 
grief and indignation. In the heat of the moment, old 
Muley was extolled to the skies as a patriot prince, who 
had fought to the last for the salvation of his country— 
as a mirror of monarchs, scorning to compromise the 
dignity of his crown by any act of vassalage. Boabdil, 
on the contrary, had looked on exultingly at the hopeless 
yet heroic struggle of his uncle; he had rejoiced in the 
defeat of the faithful, and the triumph of unbelievers; 
he had aided in the dismemberment and downfall of the 


SURRENDER OF OR AN AD A DEMANDED. 553 


empire. When they beheld him riding forth in gorgeous 
state, on what they considered a day of humiliation for 
all true Moslems, they could not contain their rage ; and 
amidst the clamors that met his ears, Boabdil more than 
once heard his name coupled with the epithets of traitor 
and renegado. 

Shocked and discomfited, the youthful monarch re¬ 
turned in confusion to the Alhambra; shut himself up 
within its innermost courts, and remained a kind of vol¬ 
untary prisoner until the first burst of popular feeling 
should subside. He trusted that it would soon pass 
away; that the people would be too sensible of the 
sweets of peace, to repine at the price at which it was 
obtained; at any rate, he trusted to the strong friendship 
of the Christian sovereigns, to secure him even against 
the factions of his subjects. 

The first missives from the politic Ferdinand showed 
Boabdil the value of his friendship. The Christian 
monarch reminded him of a treaty which he had made 
when captured in the city of Loxa. By this, he had en¬ 
gaged that, in case the Catholic sovereigns should cap¬ 
ture the cities of Guadix, Baza, and Almeria, he would 
surrender Granada into their hands within a limited 
time, and accept in exchange certain Moorish towns, to 
be held by him as their vassal. Guadix, Baza, and Al¬ 
meria, had now fallen; Ferdinand called upon him, there¬ 
fore, to fulfill his engagement. 

If the unfortunate Boabdil had possessed the will, he 



554 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


had not the power to comply with this demand. He was 
shut up in the Alhambra, while a tempest of popular 
fury raged without. Granada was thronged by refugees 
from the captured towns, many of them disbanded sol¬ 
diers, and others broken-down citizens, rendered fierce 
and desperate by ruin. All railed at him, as the real 
cause of their misfortunes. How was he to venture forth 
in such a storm ?—above all, how was he to talk to such 
men of surrender ? In his reply to Ferdinand, he rep¬ 
resented the difficulties of his situation, and that, so far 
from having control over his subjects, his very life was 
in danger from their turbulence. He entreated the king, 
therefore, to rest satisfied for the present with his recent 
conquests, promising that should he be able to regain 
full empire over his capital and its inhabitants, it would 
be but to rule over them as vassal to the Castilian crown. 

Ferdinand was not to be satisfied with such a reply. 
The time was come to bring his game of policy to a close, 
and to consummate his conquest, by seating himself on 
the throne of the Alhambra. Professing to consider 
Boabdil as a faithless ally, who had broken his plighted 
word, he discarded him from his friendship, and ad¬ 
dressed a second letter, not to him, but to the com¬ 
manders and council of the city. He demanded a com 
plete surrender of the place, with all the arms in the 
possession either of the citizens or of others who had 
recently taken refuge within its walls. If the inhabitants 
should comply with this summons, he promised them the 


MUZA ABUL GAZAN . 


555 


indulgent terms granted to Baza, Guadix, and Almeria ; 
if they should refuse, he threatened them with the fate 
of Malaga.* 

This message produced the greatest commotion in the 
city. The inhabitants of the Alcaiceria, that busy hive 
of traffic, and all others who had tasted the sweets of 
gainful commerce during the late cessation of hostilities, 
were for securing their golden advantages by timely sub¬ 
mission : others, who had wives and children, looked on 
them with tenderness and solicitude, and dreaded, by re¬ 
sistance, to bring upon them the horrors of slavery. 

On the other hand, Granada was crowded with men 
from all parts, ruined by the war, exasperated by their 
sufferings, and eager only for revenge; with others, who 
had been reared amidst hostilities, who had lived by the 
sword, and whom a return of peace would leave without 
home or hope. Besides these, there were others no 
less fiery and warlike in disposition, but animated by a 
loftier spirit. These were valiant and haughty cavaliers 
of the old chivalrous lineages, who had inherited a 
deadly hatred to the Christians from a long line of 
warrior ancestors, and to whom the idea was worse than 
death, that Granada, illustrious Granada! for ages the 
seat of Moorish grandeur and delight, should become 
the abode of unbelievers. 

Among these cavaliers, the most eminent was Muza 


* Cura de los Palacios, cap. 96. 


556 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


Abul Gazan. He was of royal lineage, of a proud and 
generous nature, and a form combining manly strength 
and beauty. None could excel him in the management 
of the horse, and dexterous use of all kinds of weap¬ 
ons : his gracefulness and skill in the tourney were the 
theme of praise among the Moorish dames, and his 
prowess in the field had made him the terror of the 
enemy. He had long repined at the timid policy of 
Boabdil, and endeavored to counteract its enervating 
effects, and keep alive the martial spirit of Granada. 
For this reason, he had promoted jousts and tiltings 
with the reed, and all those other public games which 
bear the semblance of war. He endeavored also to in¬ 
culcate into his companions in arms those high chival¬ 
rous sentiments which lead to valiant and magnanimous 
deeds, but which are apt to decline with the indepen¬ 
dence of a nation. The generous efforts of Muza had 
been in a great measure successful: he was the idol of 
the youthful cavaliers ; they regarded him as a mirror of 
chivalry, and endeavored to imitate his lofty and heroic 
virtues. 

When Muza heard the demand of Ferdinand that they 
should deliver up their arms, his eye flashed fire: “ Does 
the Christian king think that we are old men,” said he, 
“and that staffs will suffice us?—or that we are women, 
and can be contented with distaffs ? Let him know that 
a Moor is born to the spear and scimetar; to career 
the steed, bend the bow, and launch the javelin: deprive 


REFUSAL TO SURRENDER. 


557 


him of these, and you deprive him of his nature. If the 
Christian king desires our arms, let him come and win 
them; but let him win them dearly. For my part, 
sweeter were a grave beneath the walls of Granada, on 
the spot I had died to defend, than the richest couch 
within her palaces, earned by submission to the unbe¬ 
liever.” 

The words of Muza were received with enthusiastic 
shouts, by the warlike part of the populace. Granada 
once more awoke, as a warrior shaking off a disgraceful 
lethargy. The commanders and council partook of the 
public excitement, and dispatched a reply to the Chris¬ 
tian sovereigns, declaring that they would suffer death 
rather than surrender their city. 



CHAPTER LXXXrV. 


amr &ING FERDINAND turned his hostilities against the CITY OF GRANADA. 

HEN King Ferdinand received the defiance of 
the Moors, he made preparations for bitter 
hostilities. The winter season did not admit 
of an immediate campaign; he contented himself, there¬ 
fore, with throwing strong garrisons into all his towns 
and fortresses in the neighborhood of Granada, and gave 
the command of all the frontier of Jaen to Inigo Lopez 
de Mendoza, count of Tendilla, who had shown such 
consummate vigilance and address in maintaining the 
dangerous post of Alhama. This renowned veteran esta¬ 
blished his head-quarters in the mountain city of Alcala 
la Real, within eight leagues of the city of Granada, and 
commanding the most important passes of that rugged 
frontier. 

In the meantime, Granada resounded with the stir of 
war. The chivalry of the nation had again control of its 
councils; and the populace, having once more resumed 
their weapons, were anxious to wipe out the disgrace of 
their late passive submission, by signal and daring exploits. 

Muza Abul Gazan was the soul of action. He corn- 



558 







FERDINAND’S POLICY. 


559 


manded the cavalry, which he had disciplined with un¬ 
common shill; he was surrounded by the noblest youth 
of Granada, who had caught his own generous and mar¬ 
tial fire, and panted for the field; while the common 
soldiers, devoted to his person, were ready to follow him 
in the most desperate enterprises. He did not allow 
their courage to cool for want of action. The gates of 
Granada once more poured forth legions of light scouring 
cavalry, which skirred the country up to the very gates 
of the Christian fortresses, sweeping off flocks and herds. 
The name of Muza became formidable throughout the 
frontier; he had many encounters with the enemy in the 
rough passes of the mountains, in which the superior 
lightness and dexterity of his cavalry gave him the ad¬ 
vantage. The sight of his glistening legion, returning 
across the vega with long cavalgadas of booty, was hailed 
by the Moors as a revival of their ancient triumphs; but 
when they beheld Christian banners borne into their 
gates as trophies, the exultation of the light-minded pop¬ 
ulace was beyond all bounds. 

The winter passed away; the spring advanced, yet 
Ferdinand delayed to take the field. He knew the city 
of Granada was too strong and populous to be taken by 
assault, and too full of provisions to be speedily reduced 
by siege. “ We must have patience and perseverance,” 
said the politic monarch ; “ by ravaging the country this 
year, we shall produce a scarcity the next, and then the 
city may be invested with effect.” 




560 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


An interval of peace, aided by the quick vegetation of 
a prolific soil and happy climate, had restored the vega 
to all its luxuriance and beauty; the green pastures on 
the borders of the Xenil were covered with flocks and 
herds ; the blooming orchards gave promise of abundant 
fruit, and the open plain was waving with ripening corn. 
The time was at hand to put in the sickle and reap the 
golden harvest, when suddenly a torrent of war came 
sweeping down from the mountains; and Ferdinand, 
with an army of five thousand horse and twenty thousand 
foot, appeared before the walls of Granada. He had left 
the queen and princess at the fortress of Moclin, and 
came attended by the duke of Medina Sidonia, the mar¬ 
ques of Cadiz, the marques de Yillena, the counts of 
Urena and Cabra, Don Alonzo de Aguilar, and other 
renowned cavaliers. On this occasion, he for the first 
time led his son prince Juan into the field, and bestowed 
upon him the dignity of knighthood. As if to stimulate 
him to grand achievements, the ceremony took place on 
the banks of the grand canal, almost beneath the em¬ 
battled walls of that warlike city, the object of such 
daring enterprises, and in the midst of that famous vega, 
the field of so many chivalrous exploits. Above them 
shone resplendent the red towers of the Alhambra, rising 
from amidst delicious groves, with the standard of Ma¬ 
homet waving defiance to the Christian arms. 

The duke of Medina Sidonia, and Roderigo Ponce de 
Leon, marques of Cadiz, were sponsors; and all the chiv- 


SKIRMISHING BEFORE GRANADA. 


561 


airy of the camp was assembled on the occasion. The 
prince, after he was knighted, bestowed the same honor 
on several youthful cavaliers of high rank, just entering, 
like himself, on the career of arms. 

Ferdinand did not loiter, in carrying his desolating 
plans into execution. He detached parties in every 
direction, to lay waste the country; villages were sacked, 
burnt, and destroyed, and the lovely vega was once more 
laid waste with fire and sword. The ravage was carried 
so close to Granada, that the city was wrapped in the 
smoke of its gardens and hamlets. The dismal cloud 
rolled up the hill and hung about the towers of the Al¬ 
hambra, where the unfortunate Boabdil still remained 
shut up from the indignation of his subjects. The hap¬ 
less monarch smote his breast, as he looked down from 
his mountain palace on the desolation effected by his late 
ally. He dared not even show himself in arms among 
the populace, for they cursed him as the cause of the 
miseries once more brought to their doors. 

The Moors, however, did not suffer the Christians to 
carry on their ravages unmolested as in former years. 
Muza incited them to incessant sallies. He divided his 
cavalry into small squadrons, each led by a daring com¬ 
mander. They were taught to hover round the Chris¬ 
tian camp, to harass it from various and opposite quar¬ 
ters, cutting off convoys and straggling detachments; to 
waylay the army in its ravaging expeditions, lurking 
among rocks and passes of the mountains, or in hollows 
36 




562 


CONQUEST OF OR AN AD A. 


and thickets of the plain, and practicing a thousand 
stratagems and surprises. 

The Christian army had one day spread itself out 
rather unguardedly, in its foraging about the vega. As 
the troops commanded by the marques of Villena ap¬ 
proached the skirts of the mountains, they beheld a 
number of Moorish peasants hastily driving a herd of 
cattle into a narrow glen. The soldiers, eager for booty, 
pressed in pursuit of them. Scarcely had they entered 
the glen, when shouts arose from every side, and they 
were furiously attacked by an ambuscade of horse and 
foot. Some of the Christians took to flight; others stood 
their ground, and fought valiantly. The Moors had the 
vantage-ground; some showered darts and arrows from 
the cliffs of the rocks, others fought hand to hand on the 
plain; while their cavalry carried havoc and confusion 
into the midst of the Christian forces. 

The marques de Villena, with his brother Don Alonzo 
de Pacheco, at the first onset of the Moors, spurred into 
the hottest of the fight. They had scarce entered, 
when Don Alonzo was struck lifeless from his horse, 
before the eyes of his brother. Estevan Luzon, a gallant 
captain, fell fighting bravely by the side of the marques, 
who remained, with his chamberlain Soler and a handful 
of knights, surrounded by the enemy. Several cavaliers 
from other parts of the army hastened to their assist¬ 
ance, when King Ferdinand, seeing that the Moors had 
the vantage-ground, and that the Christians were suffer- 






MUZA’S AMBUSCADES. 


563 


ing severely, gave a signal for retreat. The marques 
obeyed slowly and reluctantly, for his heart was full of 
grief and rage at the death of his brother. As he was 
retiring, he beheld his faithful chamberlain Soler de¬ 
fending himself valiantly against six Moors. The mar¬ 
ques turned, and rushed to his rescue; he killed two 
of the enemy with his own hand, and put the rest to 
flight. One of the Moors, however, in retreating, rose 
in his stirrups, and hurling his lance at the marques, 
wounded him in the right arm and crippled him for 
life.* 

Such was one of the many ambuscadoes concerted by 
Muza; nor did he hesitate at times to present a bold 
front to the Christian forces, and defy them in the open 
field. Ferdinand soon perceived, however, that the Moors 
seldom provoked a battle without having the advantage 
of the ground; and that though the Christians generally 
appeared to have the victory, they suffered the greatest 
loss; for retreating was a part of the Moorish system, by 
which they would draw their pursuers into confusion, 
and then turn upon them with a more violent and fatal 

* In consequence of this wound, the marques was ever after obliged to 
write his signature with his left hand, though capable of managing his 
lance with his right. The queen one day demanded of him, why he had 
adventured his life for that of a domestic ? “Does not your majesty 
think,” replied he, “ that I ought to risk one life for him who would have 
adventured three for me had he possessed them ? ” The queen was 
charmed with the magnanimity of the reply, and often quoted the 
marques as setting an heroic example to the chivalry of the age. Mari¬ 
ana, lib. 25, cap. 15. 




664 


CONQUEST OF OBAN AD A. 


attack. He commanded his captains, therefore, to de¬ 
cline all challenges to skirmish, and pursue a secure sys¬ 
tem of destruction, ravaging the country, and doing all 
possible injury to the enemy, with slight risk to them¬ 
selves. 


CHAPTER LXXXV. 

THE FATE OF THE CASTLE OF ROMA. 

T two leagues from Granada, on an emi- 
?e commanding an extensive view of the 
i>, stood the strong Moorish castle of Roma. 
Hither the neighboring peasantry drove their flocks and 
herds, and hurried with their most precious effects, on 
the irruption of a Christian force; and any foraging or 
skirmishing party from Granada, on being intercepted in 
their return, threw themselves into Roma, manned its 
embattled towers, and set the enemy at defiance. The 
garrison were accustomed to have parties of Moors clat¬ 
tering up to their gates, so hotly pursued that there 
was barely time to throw open the portal, receive them 
within, and shut out their pursuers; while the Chris¬ 
tian cavaliers had many a time reined up their panting 
steeds, at the very entrance of the barbacan, and retired, 
cursing the strong walls of Roma, that robbed them of 
their prey. 

The late ravages of Ferdinand, and the continual skir¬ 
mishings in the vega, had roused the vigilance of the cas¬ 
tle. One morning early, as the sentinels kept watch upon 

565 







566 


CONQUEST OF OB AN AD A, 


the battlements, they beheld a cloud of dust advancing 
rapidly from a distance : turbans and Moorish weapons 
soon caught their eyes: and as the whole approached, 
they descried a drove of cattle, urged on in great haste, 
and convoyed by one hundred and fifty Moors, who led 
with them two Christian captives in chains. 

When the cavalgada arrived near the castle, a Moorish 
cavalier, of noble and commanding mien and splendid 
attire, rode up to the foot of the tower, and entreated ad¬ 
mittance. He stated that they were returning with rich 
booty from a foray into the lands of the Christians, but 
that the enemy was on their traces, and they feared to be 
overtaken before they could reach Granada. The senti¬ 
nels descended in all haste, and flung open the gates. 
The long cavalgada defiled into the courts of the castle, 
which were soon filled with bleating and lowing flocks 
and herds, with neighing and stamping steeds, and with 
fierce-looking Moors from the mountains. The cavalier 
who had asked admission was the chief of the party ; he 
was somewhat advanced in life, of a lofty and gallant 
bearing, and had with him a son, a young man of great 
spirit and fire. Close by them followed the two Chris¬ 
tian captives, with looks cast down and disconsolate. 

The soldiers of the garrison had roused themselves 
from their sleep, and were busily occupied attending to 
the cattle which crowded the courts : while the foraging 
party distributed themselves about the castle, to seek 
refreshment or repose. Suddenly a shout arose, that 




FATE OF ROMA . 


567 


was echoed from courtyard, and hall, and battlement. 
The garrison, astonished and bewildered, would have 
rushed to their arms, but found themselves, almost be¬ 
fore they eould make resistance, completely in the power 
of an enemy. 

The pretended foraging party consisted of Mudexares, 
or Moors tributary to the Christians; and the comman¬ 
ders were the prince Cid Hiaya, and his son Alnayer., 
They had hastened from the mountains with this small 
force, to aid the Catholic sovereigns during the summer’s 
campaign; and had concerted to surprise this important: 
castle, and present it to king Ferdinand, as a gage of 
their faith, and the first fruits of their devotion. 

The politic monarch overwhelmed his new converts 
and allies with favors and distinctions, in return for this 
important acquisition; but he took care to dispatch a 
strong force of veteran and genuine Christian troops, to 
man the fortress. 

As to the Moors who had composed the garrison, Cid 
Hiaya remembered that they were his countrymen, and 
could not prevail upon himself to deliver them into 
Christian bondage. He set them at liberty, and per¬ 
mitted them to repair to Granada; “ a proof,” says the 
pious Agapida, “ that liis conversion was not entirely 
consummated, but that there were still some lingerings 
of the infidel in his heart.” His lenity was far from pro¬ 
curing him indulgence in the opinions of his country¬ 
men ; on the contrary, the inhabitants of Granada, when 






568 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


they learnt from the liberated garrison the stratagem by 
which Roma had been captured, cursed Cid Hiaya for a 
traitor; and the garrison joined in the malediction.* 

But the indignation of the people of Granada was des¬ 
tined to be roused to tenfold violence. The old warrior 
Muley Abdallah el Zagal had retired to his little moun¬ 
tain territory, and for a short time endeavored to console 
himself with his petty title of king of Andarax. He soon 
grew impatient, however, of the quiet and inaction of his 
mimic kingdom. His fierce spirit was exasperated by 
being shut up within such narrow limits, and his hatred 
rose to downright fury against Boabdil, whom he con¬ 
sidered as the cause of his downfall. When tidings 
were brought him that king Ferdinand was laying waste 
the vega, he took a sudden resolution. Assembling the 
whole disposable force of his kingdom, which amounted 
but to two hundred men, he descended from the Alpux- 
arras and sought the Christian camp, content to serve as 
a vassal the enemy of his faith and his nation, so that he 
might see Granada wrested from the sway of his nephew. 

In his blind passion, the old wrathful monarch injured 
his cause, and strengthened the cause of his adversary. 
The Moors of Granada had been clamorous in his praise, 
extolling him as a victim to his patriotism, and had re¬ 
fused to believe all reports of his treaty with the Chris¬ 
tians ; but when they beheld, from the walls of the city, 


* Pulsar, Cron. pt. 3, cap. 130. Cura de los Palacios , cap. 90. 




REACTION IN FA VOR OF BOABDIL. 


569 


his banner mingling with the banners of the unbelievers, 
and arrayed against his late people, and the capital he 
had commanded, they broke forth into revilings, and 
heaped curses upon his name. 

Their next emotion, of course, was in favor of Boabdil. 
They gathered under the walls of the Alhambra, and 
hailed him as their only hope, as the sole dependence of 
the country. Boabdil could scarcely believe his senses, 
when he heard his name mingled with praises and 
greeted with acclamations. Encouraged by this unex¬ 
pected gleam of popularity, he ventured forth from his 
retreat, and was received with rapture. All his past 
errors were attributed to the hardships of his fortune, 
and the usurpation of his tyrant uncle; and whatever 
breath the populace could spare from uttering curses on 
El Zagal, was expended in shouts in honor of El Chico. 






CHAPTER LXXXVL 


HOW BOABDIL EL CHICO TOOK THE FIELD ; AND HIS EXPEDITION AGAINST 
ALHENDIN. 



OE thirty days had the vega been overrun by 
the Christian forces; and that vast plain, late 
so luxuriant and beautiful, was one wide scene 
of desolation. The destroying army, having accomplished 
its task, passed over the bridge of Pinos and wound up 
into the mountains, on the way to Cordova, bearing away 
the spoils of towns and villages, and driving off flocks 
and herds in long dusty columns. The sound of the last 
Christian trumpet died away along the side of the moun¬ 
tain of Elvira, and not a hostile squadron was seen glis¬ 
tening on the mournful fields of the vega. 

The eyes of Boabdil el Chico were at length opened to 
the real policy of king Ferdinand, and he saw that he 
had no longer anything to depend upon but the valor of 
his arm. No time was to be lost in hastening to counter¬ 
act the effect of the late Christian ravage, and in opening 
the channel for distant supplies to Granada. 

Scarcely had the retiring squadrons of Ferdinand dis¬ 
appeared among the mountains, when Boabdil buckled 

570 





BOABDIL TAKES THE FIELD. 


571 


on his armor, sallied forth from the Alhambra, and pre¬ 
pared to take the field. TV hen the populace beheld him 
actually in arms against his late ally, both parties 
thronged with zeal to his standard. The hardy inhabi¬ 
tants also of the Sierra Nevada, or chain of snow-capped 
mountains which rise above Granada, descended from 
their heights, and hastened into the city gates, to proffer 
their devotion to their youthful king. The great square 
of the Vivarrambla shone with legions of cavalry, decked 
with the colors and devices of the most ancient Moorish 
families, and marshaled forth by the patriot Muza to fol¬ 
low the king to battle. 

It was on the 15th of June, that Boabdil once more is¬ 
sued forth from the gates of Granada on martial enters 
prise. A few leagues from the city, within full view of it, 
and at the entrance of the Alpuxarra mountains, stood 
the powerful castle of Alhendin. It was built on an emi¬ 
nence, rising from the midst of a small town, and com¬ 
manding a great part of the vega and the main road to 
the rich valleys of the Alpuxarras. The castle was com¬ 
manded by a valiant Christian cavalier named Mendo de 
Quexada, and garrisoned by two hundred and fifty men, 
all seasoned and experienced warriors. It was a contin¬ 
ual thorn in the side of Granada: the laborers of the 
vega were swept off from their fields, by its hardy sol¬ 
diers ; convoys were cut off in the passes of the moun¬ 
tains ; and as the garrison commanded a full view of the 
gates of the city, no band of merchants could venture 





572 


CONQUEST OF OB AN AD A. 


forth on their needful journeys, without being swooped 
up by the war-hawks of Alhendin. 

It was against this important fortress that Boabdil 
first led his troops, and for six days and nights it was 
closely besieged. The alcayde and his veteran garrison 
defended themselves valiantly, but were exhausted by 
fatigue and constant watchfulness; for the Moors, being 
continually relieved by fresh troops from Granada, kept 
up an unremitted and vigorous attack. Twice the bar- 
bacan was forced, and twice the assailants were driven 
forth headlong with excessive loss. The garrison, how¬ 
ever, was diminished in number by the killed and 
wounded; there were no longer soldiers sufficient to 
man the walls and gateway; and the brave alcayde was 
compelled to retire, with his surviving force, to the keep 
of the castle, in which he continued to make a desperate 
resistance. 

The Moors now approached the foot of the tower, un¬ 
der shelter of wooden screens covered with wet hides, 
to ward off missiles and combustibles. They went to 
work vigorously to undermine the tower, placing propa 
of wood under the foundations, to be afterwards set on 
fire, so as to give the besiegers time to escape before the 
edifice should fall. Some of the Moors plied their cross¬ 
bows and arquebuses to defend the workmen, and drive 
the Christians from the walls : while t 


down stones, and darts, and melted 
combustibles, on the miners. 







DESTRUCTION OF THE TOWER OF ALHENDIN. 573 


The brave Mendo de Quexada had cast many an anxi¬ 
ous eye across the vega, in hopes of seeing some Chris¬ 
tian force hastening to his assistance. Not a gleam of 
spear or helm was to be descried, for no one had 
dreamt of this sndden irruption of the Moors. The al¬ 
cayde beheld his bravest men dead or wounded around 
him, while the remainder were sinking with watchful¬ 
ness and fatigue. In defiance of all opposition, the 
Moors had accomplished their mine; the fire was 
brought before the walls, that was to be applied to the 
stanchions, in case the garrison persisted in defense. 
In a little while, the tower would crumble beneath him, 
and be rent and hurled a ruin to the plain. At the very 
last moment, the brave alcayde made the signal of sur¬ 
render. He marched forth with the remnant of his vet¬ 
eran garrison, who were all made prisoners. Boabdil 
immediately ordered the walls of the fortress to be razed, 
and fire to be applied to the stanchions, that the place 
might never again become a stronghold to the Chris¬ 
tians, and a scourge to Granada. The alcayde and his 
fellow-captives were led in dejected convoy across the 
vega, when they heard a tremendous crash behind them. 
They turned to look upon their late fortress, but beheld 
nothing but a heap of tumbling ruins, and a vast column 
of smoke and dust, where once had stood the lofty tower 
of Alhendm 


CHAPTER LXXXYn. 


EXPLOIT OF THE COUNT DE TENDILLA. 



jOABDIL EL CHICO followed up his success, 
bj capturing the two fortresses of Marchena 
and Albolodny, belonging to Cid Hiaya; he 
also sent his alfaquis in every direction, to proclaim a 
holy war, and to summon all true Moslems of town or 
castle, mountain or valley, to saddle steed and buckle on 
armor, and hasten to the standard of the faith. The 
tidings spread far and wide, that Boabdil el Chico was 
once more in the field, and was victorious. The Moors 
of various places, dazzled by this gleam of success, 
hastened to throw off their sworn allegiance to the 
Castilian crown, and to elevate the standard of Boabdil; 
and the youthful monarch flattered himself that the 
whole kingdom was on the point of returning to its alle¬ 
giance. 

The fiery cavaliers of Granada, eager to renew those 
forays into the Christian lands, in which they had 
formerly delighted, concerted an irruption to the north, 
into the territory of Jaen, to harass the country about 
Quezada. They had heard of a rich convoy of merchants 

574 








IRRUPTION INTO JAEN. 


575 


and 'wealthy travellers, on the way to the city of Baza; 
and anticipated a glorious conclusion to their foray in 
capturing this convoy. 

Assembling a number of horsemen, lightly armed and 
fleetly mounted, and one hundred foot-soldiers, they 
issued forth by night from Granada, made their way in 
silence through the defiles of the mountains, crossed the 
frontier without opposition, and suddenly appeared, as if 
fallen from the clouds, in the very heart of the Christian 
country. 

The mountainous frontier which separates Granada 
from Jaen, was at this time under the command of the 
count de Tendilla, the same veteran who had dis¬ 
tinguished himself by his vigilance and sagacity when 
commanding the fortress of Alhama. He held his head¬ 
quarters at the city of Alcala la Beal, in its impregnable 
fortress, perched high among the mountains, about six 
leagues from Granada, and dominating all the frontier. 
From this cloud-capt hold he kept an eagle eye upon 
Granada, and had his scouts and spies in all directions, 
so that a crow could not fly over the border without his 
knowledge. His fortress was a place of refuge for the 
Christian captives who escaped by night from the Moor¬ 
ish dungeons of Granada. Often, however, they missed 
their way in the defiles of the mountains, and, wandering 
about bewildered, either repaired by mistake to some 
Moorish town, or were discovered and retaken at day¬ 
light by the enemy. To prevent these accidents the count 




576 


CONQUEST OF OR AN AD A. 


had a tower built at his own expense, on the top of one 
of the heights near Alcala, which commanded a view of 
the vega and surrounding country. Here he kept a light 
blazing throughout the night, as a beacon for all Chris¬ 
tian fugitives, to guide them to a place of safety. 

The count was aroused one night from his repose, by 
shouts and cries which came up from the town and ap¬ 
proached the castle walls. “ To arms! to arms! the 
Moor is over the border! ” was the cry. A Christian 
soldier, pale and emaciated, who still bore traces of 
Moorish chains, was brought before the count. He had 
been taken as guide by the Moorish cavaliers who had 
sallied from Granada, but had escaped from them among 
the mountains, and, after much wandering, had found his 
way to Alcala by the signal-fire. 

Notwithstanding the bustle and agitation of the mo¬ 
ment, the count de Tendilla listened calmly and atten¬ 
tively, to the account of the fugitive, and questioned him 
minutely as to the time of departure of the Moors, and 
the rapidity and direction of their march. He saw that 
it was too late to prevent their incursion and ravage; but 
he determined to await them, and give them a warm re¬ 
ception on their return. His soldiers were always on the 
alert, and ready to take the field at a moment’s warning. 
Choosing one hundred and fifty lances, hardy and valiant 
men, well disciplined and well seasoned, as indeed were 
all his troops, he issued forth quietly before break of 
day, and, descending the defiles of the mountains, sta- 


APPROACH OF THE MOORS. 


577 


tioned his little force in ambush, in a deep barranca, or 
dry channel of a torrent, near Barzina, but three leagues 
from Granada, on the road by which the marauders 
would have to return. In the meantime, he sent out 
scouts, to post themselves upon different heights, and 
look out for the approach of the enemy. 

All day they remained concealed in the ravine, and for 
a great part of the following night; not a Moor, however, 
was to be seen, excepting now and then a peasant re¬ 
turning from his labor, or a solitary muleteer hastening 
towards Granada. The cavaliers of the count began to 
grow restless and impatient; fearing that the enemy 
might have taken some other route, or might have re¬ 
ceived intelligence of their ambuscade. They urged the 
count to abandon the enterprise, and return to Alcala. 
“We are here,” said they, “almost at the gates of the 
Moorish capital, our movements may have been descried, 
and, before we are aware, Granada may pour forth its 
legions of swift cavalry, and crush us with an overwhelm¬ 
ing force.” The count, however, persisted in remaining 
until his scouts should come in. About two hours be¬ 
fore daybreak, there were signal-fires on certain Moorish 
watch-towers of the mountains. While they were regard¬ 
ing these with anxiety, the scouts came hurrying into the 
ravine: “The Moors are approaching,” said they; “we 
have reconnoitered them near at hand. They are be¬ 
tween one and two hundred strong, but encumbered with 
many prisoners and much boot,y.” The Christian cava- 
37 




578 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


liers laid their ears to the ground, and heard the distant 
tramp of horses and the tread of foot-soldiers. They 
mounted their horses, braced their shields, couched their 
lances, and drew near to the entrance of the ravine where 
it opened upon the road. 

The Moors had succeeded in waylaying and surprising 
the Christian convoy, on its way to Baza. They had cap¬ 
tured a great number of prisoners, male and female, with 
great store of gold and jewels, and sumpter mules laden 
with rich merchandise. With these they had made a 
forced march over the dangerous parts of the mountains : 
but now, finding themselves so near to Granada, fancied 
themselves in perfect security. They loitered along the 
road, therefore, irregularly and slowly, some singing, 
others laughing and exulting at having eluded the 
boasted vigilance of the count de Tendilla; while ever 
and anon was heard the plaint of some female captive be¬ 
wailing the jeopardy of her honor, or the heavy sighing 
of the merchant at beholding his property in the grasp 
of ruthless spoilers. 

The count waited until some of the escort had passed 
the ravine, then, giving the signal for assault, his cava¬ 
liers set up great shouts and cries, and charged into the 
centre of the foe. The obscurity of the place and the 
hour added to the terrors of the surprise. The Moors 
were thrown into confusion; some rallied, fought desper¬ 
ately, and fell covered with wounds. Thirty-six were 
killed, and fifty-five were made prisoners; the rest, under 




CAPTURE OF THE SPOILERS. 


579 


cover of the darkness, made their escape to the rocks 
and defiles of the mountains. 

The good count unbound the prisoners, gladdening 
the hearts of the merchants by restoring to them their 
merchandise. To the female captives also he restored 
the jewels of which they had been despoiled, excepting 
such as had been lost beyond recovery. Forty-five sad¬ 
dle horses, of the choice Barbary breed, remained as 
captured spoils of the Moors, together with costly armor, 
and booty of various kinds. Having collected everything 
in haste, and arranged his cavalgada, the count urged his 
way with all speed for Alcala la Beal, lest he should be 
pursued and overtaken by the Moors of Granada. As 
he wound up the steep ascent to his mountain city, the 
inhabitants poured forth to meet him with shouts of joy. 
His triumph was doubly enhanced by being received at 
the gates of the city by his wife, the daughter of the 
marques of Yillena, a lady of distinguished merit, whom 
he had not seen for two years, during which he had 
been separated from his home by the arduous duties of 
these iron wars. 

We have yet another act to relate of this good count de 
Tendilla, who was in truth a mirror of knightly virtue. 
One day, a Christian soldier, just escaped from captivity 
in Granada, brought word to the count, that an illus¬ 
trious damsel named Fatima, niece of the alcayde Aben 
Comixa, was to leave the city on a certain day, escorted 
by a numerous party of relatives and friends of distin- 



580 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


guished rank, on a journey to Almunecar, there to 
embark for the African coast, to celebrate her nuptials 
with the alcayde of Tetuan. This was too brilliant a 
prize to be neglected. The count accordingly sallied 
forth with a light company of cavalry, and descending 
the defiles of the mountains, stationed himself behind 
the rocky sierra of Elvira, not far from the eventful 
bridge of Pinos, within a few short miles of Granada. 
Hence he detached Alonzo de Cardenas Ulloa, with fifty 
light horsemen, to post himself in ambush, by the road 
the bridal party had to travel. After a time, the latter 
came in sight, proving less numerous than had been 
expected; for the damsel was escorted merely by four 
armed domestics, and accompanied by a few relatives 
and two female attendants. The whole party was sur¬ 
rounded and captured almost without resistance, and 
carried off to the count at the bridge of Pinos. The 
good count conveyed his beautiful captive to his strong¬ 
hold at Alcala, where he treated her and her companions 
with all the delicacy and respect due to their rank and 
to his own character as a courteous cavalier. 

The tidings of the capture of his niece gave poignant 
affliction to the vizier Aben Comixa. His royal master 
Boabdil, of whom he was the prime favorite and confi¬ 
dential adviser, sympathized in his distress. With his 
own hand he wrote a letter to the count, offering in ex¬ 
change for the fair Fatima one hundred Christian cap¬ 
tives, to be chosen from those detained in Granada* 







GALLANT ACT OF TEND ILL A. 


581 


This royal letter was sent by Don Francisco de Zuniga, 
an Aragonese cavalier, whom Aben Comixa held in cap¬ 
tivity, and who was set at liberty for the purpose. 

On receiving the letter of Boabdil, the count de Ten- 
dilla at once gave freedom to the Moorish maid, making 
her a magnificent present of jewels, and sending her and 
her companions under honorable escort to the very gates 
of Granada. 

Boabdil, exceeding his promises, immediately set free 
twenty captive priests, one hundred and thirty Cas¬ 
tilian and Aragonian cavaliers, and a number of peasant 
women. His favorite and vizier, Aben Comixa, was so 
rejoiced at the liberation of his niece, and so struck with 
the chivalrous conduct of her captor, that he maintained 
from that day a constant and amicable correspondence 
with the count de Tendilla; and became, in the hands 
of the latter, one of the most efficacious agents in bring¬ 
ing the war of Granada to a triumphant close.* 

* This interesting anecdote of the count de Tendilla, which is a key to 
the subsequent conduct of the vizier Aben Comixa, and had a singu¬ 
lar influence on the fortunes of Boabdil and his kingdom, is originally 
given in a manuscript history of the counts of Tendilla, written about 
the middle of the sixteenth century, by Gabriel Rodriguez de Ardila, a 
Granadine clergyman. It has been brought to light recently by the re¬ 
searches of Alcantara for his History of Granada (vol. 4, cap. 18). 


CHAPTER LXXAVm. 


EXPEDITION OF BOABDIL EL CHICO AGAINST SALOBRENA.—EXPLOIT OF HERN AM 
PEREZ DEL PULGAR. 

ING BOABDIL found that his diminished ter¬ 
ritory was too closely dominated by Christian 
fortresses like Alcala la Real, and too strictly 
watched by vigilant alcaydes like the count of Tendilla, 
to be able to maintain itself by internal resources. His 
foraging expeditions were liable to be intercepted and 
defeated, while the ravage of the vega had swept off 
everything on which the city depended for future sus¬ 
tenance. He felt the want of a seaport, through which, 
as formerly, he might keep open a communication with 
Africa and obtain reinforcements and supplies from be¬ 
yond the sea. All the ports and harbors were in the 
hands of the Christians, and Granada and its remnant of 
dependent territory were completely landlocked. 

In this emergency, the attention of Boabdil was called 
by circumstances to the seaport of Salobrena. This re¬ 
doubtable town has already been mentioned in this chron¬ 
icle, as a place deemed impregnable by the Moors; inso¬ 
much, that their kings were accustomed, in time of peril, 

582 






TEE FUTURE OF SALOBRENA. 


583 


to keep their treasures in its citadel. It was situated on 
a high rocky hill, dividing one of those rich little vegas 
or plains which lie open to the Mediterranean, but run 
like deep green bays into the stern bosoms of the moun¬ 
tains. The vega was covered with beautiful vegetation, 
with rice and cotton, with groves of oranges, citrons, figs, 
and mulberries, and with gardens inclosed by hedges of 
reeds, of aloes and the Indian fig. Running streams of 
cool water from the springs and snows of the Sierra Ne¬ 
vada kept this delightful valley continually fresh and ver¬ 
dant ; while it was almost locked up by mountain bar¬ 
riers, and lofty promontories stretching far into the sea. 

Through the centre of this rich vega, the rock of 
Salobrena reared its rugged back, nearly dividing the 
plain, and advancing to the margin of the sea, with just 
a strip of sandy beach at its foot, laved by the blue 
waves of the Mediterranean. 

The town covered the ridge and sides of the rocky 
hill, and was fortified by strong walls and towers; while 
on the highest and most precipitate part stood the 
citadel, a huge castle that seemed to form a part of 
the living rock; the massive ruins of which, at the pres¬ 
ent day, attract the gaze of the traveller, as he winds his 
way far below, along the road through the vega. 

This important fortress had been intrusted to the 
command of Don Francisco Ramirez de Madrid, cap¬ 
tain-general of the artillery, and the most scientific of 
all the Spanish leaders. That experienced veteran, how- 




584 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


ever, was with the king at Cordova, having left a valiant 
cavalier as alcayde of the place. 

Boabdil had full information of the state of the garri¬ 
son and the absence of its commander. Putting himself 
at the head of a powerful force, therefore, he departed 
from Granada, and made a rapid march through the 
mountains; hoping to seize upon Salobrena before king 
Ferdinand could come to its assistance. 

The inhabitants of Salobrena were Mudexares, or 
Moors who had sworn allegiance to the Christians. 
Still, when they heard the sound of the Moorish drums 
and trumpets, and beheld the squadrons of their coun¬ 
trymen advancing across the vega, their hearts yearned 
towards the standard of their nation and their faith. A 
tumult arose in the place ; the populace shouted the 
name of Boabdil el Chico, and, throwing open the gates, 
admitted him within the walls. 

The Christian garrison was too few in number to con¬ 
tend for the possession of the town: they retreated to 
the citadel, and shut themselves within its massive walls, 
which were considered impregnable. Here they main¬ 
tained a desperate defense, hoping to hold out until suc¬ 
cor should arrive from the neighboring fortresses. 

The tidings that Salobrena was invested by the Moor¬ 
ish king, spread along the sea-coast, and filled the Chris¬ 
tians with alarm. Don Francisco Enriquez, uncle of the 
king, commanded the city of Yelez Malaga, about twelve 
leagues distant, but separated by ranges of those vast 


DON FRANCISCO TO TEE RESCUE. 


585 


rocky mountains which are piled along the Mediter¬ 
ranean, and tower in steep promontories and precipices 
above its waves. 

Don Francisco summoned the alcaydes of his dis¬ 
trict to hasten with him to the relief of this important 
fortress. A number of cavaliers and their retainers an¬ 
swered to his call, among whom was Hernan Perez del 
Pulgar, surnamed “ El de las Hazanas ” (he of the ex¬ 
ploits)—the same who had signalized himself in a foray, 
by elevating a handkerchief on a lance for a banner, and 
leading on his disheartened comrades to victory. As 
soon as Don Francisco beheld a little band collected 
round him, he set out with all speed for Salobrena. 
The march was rugged and severe, climbing and de¬ 
scending immense mountains, and sometimes winding 
along the edge of giddy precipices, with the surges of the 
sea raging far below. When Don Francisco arrived with 
his followers at the lofty promontory that stretches along 
one side of the little vega of Salobrena, he looked down 
with sorrow and anxiety upon a Moorish army of great 
force, encamped at the foot of the fortress, while Moor¬ 
ish banners, on various parts of the walls, proved that 
the town was already in possession of the infidels. A 
solitary Christian standard alone floated on the top of 
the castle-keep, showing that the brave garrison were 
hemmed up in their rock-built citadel. They were in 
fact reduced to great extremity, through want of water 
and provisions. 



586 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA . 


Don Francisco found it impossible, with his smafll 
force, to make any impression on the camp of the Moors, 
or to get to the relief of the castle. He stationed his 
little band upon a rocky height near the sea, where 
they were safe from the assaults of the enemy. The sight 
of his friendly banner waving in their neighborhood 
cheered the heart of the garrison, and gave them assur¬ 
ance of speedy succor from the king; while the hostile 
menaces of Don Franciso, served to check the attacks of 
the Moors upon the citadel. 

In the meantime, Hernan Perez del Pulgar, who al¬ 
ways burned to distinguish himself by bold and strik¬ 
ing exploits, had discovered in the course of his prowl- 
ings, a postern gate of the castle opening upon the steep 
part of the rocky hill looking towards the mountains. 
The thought occurred to him, that by a bold dash at a 
favorable moment, this postern might be attained, and 
succor thrown into the castle. He pointed the place out 
to his comrades. “ Who will follow my banner,” said 
he, “ and make a dash for yonder postern ? ” A bold 
proposition in time of warfare never wants for bold 
spirits to accept it. Seventy resolute men stepped for¬ 
ward to second him. Pulgar chose the early daybreak 
for his enterprise, when the Moors, just aroused from 
sleep, were changing guard, and making the various 
arrangements of the morning. Favored by these move¬ 
ments, and the drowsiness of the hour, Pulgar approach¬ 
ed the Moorish line silently and steadily, most of his 


PULOAR ENTERS THE CITADEL. 


587 


followers armed with cross-bows and espingardas, or 
muskets. Then suddenly making an onset, they broke 
through a weak part of the camp, before the alarm had 
spread through the army, and succeeded in fighting their 
way up to the gate, which was eagerly thrown open to 
receive them. 

The garrison, roused to new spirit by this unlooked- 
for reinforcement, was enabled to make a more vigorous 
resistance. The Moors, however, who knew there was a 
great scarcity of water in the castle, exulted in the idea 
that this additional number of warriors would soon 
exhaust the cisterns, and compel a surrender. Pulgar, 
hearing of this hope, caused a bucket of water to be low¬ 
ered from the battlements, and threw a silver cup in 
bravado to the Moors. 

The garrison, in truth, suffered intensely from thirst, 
while, to tantalize them in their sufferings, they beheld 
limpid streams winding in abundance through the green 
plain below them. They began to fear that all succor 
would arrive too late, when one day they beheld a little 
squadron of vessels far at sea, but standing towards the 
shore. There was some doubt at first whether it might 
not be a hostile armament from Africa ; but as it ap¬ 
proached they descried, to their great joy, the banner 
of Castile. 

It was a reinforcement, brought in all haste by the 
governor of the fortress, Don Francisco Ramirez. The 
squadron anchored at a steep rocky island, which rises 


588 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


from the very margin of the smooth sandy beach, direct¬ 
ly in front of the rock of Salobreha, and stretches out 
into the sea. On this island Eamirez landed his men, 
and was as strongly posted as if in a fortress. His force 
was too scanty to attempt a battle, but he assisted to 
harass and distract the besiegers. Whenever king Boab- 
dil made an attack upon the fortress, his camp was 
assailed on one side by the troops of Ramirez, who 
landed from their island, and on another by those of 
Francisco Enriquez, who swept down from their rock; 
while Hernan del Pulgar kept up a brave defense, from 
every tower and battlement of the castle. 

The attention of the Moorish king was diverted, also, 
for a time, by an ineffectual attempt to relieve the little 
port of Adra, which had recently declared in his favor, 
but which had been recaptured for the Christians by Cid 
Hiaya and his son Alnayar. Thus the unlucky Boabdil, 
bewildered on every hand, lost all the advantage that he 
had gained by his rapid march from Granada. While he 
was yet besieging the obstinate citadel, tidings were 
brought him that King Ferdinand was in full march, 
with a powerful host, to its assistance. There was no 
time for further delay: he made a furious attack with all 
his forces upon the castle, but was again repulsed by 
Pulgar and his coadjutors; when, abandoning the siege, 
in despair, he retreated with his army, lest King Ferdi¬ 
nand should get between him and his capital. On his 
way back to Granada, however, he in some sort consoled 


BOABDIL ABANDONS SALOBBENA. 


589 


himself for his late disappointment, by overrunning a 
part of the territories and possessions lately assigned to 
his uncle El Zagal, and to Cid Hiaya. He defeated their 
alcaydes, destroyed several of their fortresses, burnt 
their villages, and, leaving the country behind him reek¬ 
ing and smoking with his vengeance, returned with con¬ 
siderable booty, to repose himself within the walls of the 
Alhambra.* 


Pulgar, Cron. pfc. 3, cap. 131. Cwra de los Palacios, cap. 97. 



CHAPTER LXXXIX. 


HOW KING FERDINAND TREATED THE PEOPLE OF GUADIX, AND HOW EL ZAGAi 
FINISHED HIS REGAL CAREER. 

OARCELY had Boabdil ensconced himself in 
his capital, when King Ferdinand, at the head 
of seven thousand horse and twenty thousand 
foot, again appeared in the vega. He had set out in all 
haste from Cordova, to the relief of Salobreiia; but, 
hearing on his march that the siege was raised, he 
turned to make a second ravage round the walls of de¬ 
voted Granada. His present forage lasted fifteen days, 
in the course of which almost everything that had es¬ 
caped his former desolating visit was destroyed, and 
scarce a green thing or a living animal was left on the 
face of the land. The Moors sallied frequently, and 
fought desperately, in defense of their fields: but the 
work of destruction was accomplished—and Granada, 
once the queen of gardens, was left surrounded by a 
desert. 

Ferdinand next hastened to crush a conspiracy in the 
cities of Guadix, Baza, and Almeria. These recently 
conquered places had entered into secret correspondence 

590 




CONSPIRACY OF OUADIX. 


591 


with Boabdil, inviting him to march to their gates, prom¬ 
ising to rise upon the Christian garrisons, seize upon the 
citadels, and surrender them into his power. The mar¬ 
ques of Villena had received notice of the conspiracy, 
and suddenly thrown himself, with a large force, into 
Guadix. Under pretense of a review of the inhabitants, 
he made them sally forth into the fields before the city. 
When the whole Moorish population capable of bearing 
arms was thus without the walls, he ordered the gates to 
be closed. He then permitted them to enter, two by two 
and three by three, and take forth their wives, children, 
and effects. The houseless Moors were fain to make 
themselves temporary hovels, in the gardens and or¬ 
chards about the city; they were clamorous in their com¬ 
plaints at being thus excluded from their homes, but 
were told they must wait with patience until the charges 
against them could be investigated, and the pleasure of 
the king be known.* 

When Ferdinand arrived at Guadix, he found the un- 
happy Moors in their cabins among the orchards. They 
complained bitterly of the deception practiced upon 
them, and implored permission to return into the city, 
and live peaceably in their dwellings, as had been 
promised them in their articles of capitulation. 

King Ferdinand listened graciously to their com¬ 
plaints. “ My friends,” said he in reply, “ I have been 

* Zurita, cap. 85. Cura de los Palacios, cap. 97. 


592 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


informed that there has been a conspiracy among you to 
kill my alcayde and garrison, and to take part with my 
enemy, the king of Granada. I shall make a thorough 
investigation of this conspiracy. Those among you who 
shall be proved innocent shall be restored to their dwell¬ 
ings, but the guilty shall incur the penalty of their of¬ 
fenses. As I wish, however, to proceed with mercy as 
well as justice, I now give you your choice, either to de¬ 
part at once without further question, going wherever 
you please, and taking with you your families and effects, 
under an assurance of safety; or to deliver up those who 
are guilty, not one of whom, I give you my royal word, 
shall escape punishment.” 

When the people of Guadix heard these words, they 
communed among themselves ; and as most of them (says 
the worthy Agapida) were either culpable or feared to be 
considered so, they accepted the alternative, and departed 
sorrowfully, they and their wives and their little ones. 
“ Thus,” in the words of that excellent and contemporary 
historian, Andres Bernaldez, commonly called the curate 
of Los Palacios,—“ thus did the king deliver Guadix from 
the hands of the enemies of our holy faith, after seven 
hundred and seventy years that it had been in their pos¬ 
session, ever since the time of Eoderick the Goth ; and 
this was one of the mysteries of our Lord, who would not 
consent that the city should remain longer in the power 
of the Moors ”—a pious and sage remark, which is quoted 
with peculiar approbation by the worthy Agapida. 


M00B8 DEPART FOR AFRICA. 


593 


King Ferdinand offered similar alternatives to the 
Moors of Baza, Almeria, and other cities accused of par¬ 
ticipation in this conspiracy; who generally preferred to 
abandon their homes, rather than incur the risk of an in¬ 
vestigation. Most of them relinquished Spain, as a coun¬ 
try where they could no longer live in security and in¬ 
dependence, and departed with their families for Africa; 
such as remained were suffered to live in villages and 
hamlets, and other unwalled places.* 

While Ferdinand was thus occupied at Guadix, dis¬ 
pensing justice and mercy, and receiving cities in ex¬ 
change, the old monarch Muley Abdallah, surnamed 
El Zagal, appeared before him. He was haggard with 
care, and almost crazed with passion. He had found his 
little territory of Andarax, and his two thousand sub¬ 
jects, as difficult to govern as had been the distracted 
kingdom of Granada. The charm, which had bound the 
Moors to him, was broken when he appeared in arms 
under the banner of Ferdinand. He had returned from 
his inglorious campaign with his petty army of two hun¬ 
dred men, followed by the execrations of the people 
of Granada, and the secret repining of those he had 
led into the field. No sooner had his subjects heard of 
the successes of Boabdil el Chico, than they had seized 
their arms, assembled tumultuously, declared for the 
young monarch, and threatened the life of El ZagaLf 

* Garibay, lib. 13, cap. 39. Pulgar, pt. 3, cap. 132. 
f Cura de los Palacios, cap. 97. 

38 


594 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


The unfortunate old king had with difficulty evaded their 
fury; and this last lesson seemed entirely to have cured 
him of his passion for sovereignty. He now entreated 
Ferdinand to purchase the towns and castles, and other 
possessions which had been granted to him; offering 
them at a low rate, and begging safe passage for himself 
and his followers to Africa. King Ferdinand graciously 
complied with his wishes. He purchased of him three- 
and-twenty towns and villages in the valleys of Andarax 
and Alhaurin, for which he gave him five millions of 
maravedis. El Zagal relinquished his right to one half 
of the salinas or salt-pits of Maleha, in favor of his 
brother-in-law, Cid Hiaya. Having thus disposed of his 
petty empire and possessions, he packed up all his 
treasure, of which he had a great amount, and, followed 
by many Moorish families, passed over to Africa.* 

And here let us cast an eye beyond the present period 
of our chronicle, and trace the remaining career of El 
Zagal. His short and turbulent reign, and disastrous 
end, would afford a wholesome lesson to unprincipled 
ambition, were not all ambition of the kind fated to be 
blind to precept and example. When he arrived in 
Africa, instead of meeting with kindness and sympathy, 
he was seized and thrown into prison by the caliph of 
Fez, Benimerin, as though he had been his vassal. He 
was accused of being the cause of the dissensions and 


* Conde, pt. 4, cap. 41. 


FATE OF EL ZAGAL. 


595 


downfall of the kingdom of Granada; and the accusation 
being proved to the satisfaction of the king of Fez, he 
condemned the unhappy El Zagal to perpetual darkness. 
A basin of glowing copper was passed before his eyes, 
which effectually destroyed his sight. His wealth, which 
had probably been the secret cause of these cruel meas¬ 
ures, was confiscated and seized upon by his oppressor; 
and El Zagal was thrust forth, blind, helpless, and des¬ 
titute, upon the world. In this wretched condition, the 
late Moorish monarch groped his way through the re¬ 
gions of Tingitania, until he reached the city of Yelez 
de la Gomera. The emir of Yelez had formerly been his 
ally, and felt some movement of compassion at his pres¬ 
ent altered and abject state. He gave him food and rai¬ 
ment, and suffered him to remain unmolested in his 
dominions. Death, which so often hurries off the pros¬ 
perous and happy from the midst of untasted pleasures, 
spares on the other hand, the miserable, to drain the 
last drop of his cup of bitterness. El Zagal dragged out 
a wretched existence of many years, in the city of Yelez. 
He wandered about blind and disconsolate, an object 
of mingled scorn and pity, and bearing above his raiment 
a parchment on which was written in Arabic, “ This is 
the unfortunate king of Andalusia.” * 

* Marmol, de Rebelione Maur. lib. 1, cap. 16. Padraza, Hist. Granad. 
pt. 3, cap. 4 Suarez, Hist. Coisv. de Guadix y Baza , cap. 10. 


CHAPTER XC. 


PREPARATIONS OF GRANADA FOR A DESPERATE DEFENSE. 

is thy strength departed, O Granada! how 
thy beauty withered and despoiled, O city 
groves and fountains! The commerce that 
once thronged thy streets is at an end; the merchant no 
longer hastens to thy gates, with the luxuries of foreign 
lands. The cities which once paid thee tribute are 
wrested from thy sway; the chivalry which filled thy 
Yivarrambla with sumptuous pageantry, have fallen in 
many battles. The Alhambra still rears its ruddy tow¬ 
ers from the midst of groves, but melancholy reigns in 
its marble halls; and the monarch looks down from his 
lofty balconies upon a naked waste, where once extended 
the blooming glories of the vega! 

Such is the lament of the Moorish writers, over the 
lamentable state of Granada, now a mere phantom of 
former greatness. The two ravages of the vega, follow¬ 
ing so closely upon each other, had swept off all the 
produce of the year; and the husbandman had no longer 
the heart to till the field, seeing the ripening harvest 
only brought the spoiler to his door. 



596 








PREPARATIONS OF FERDINAND. 


597 


During the winter season, Ferdinand made diligent 
preparations for the campaign, that was to decide the 
fate of Granada. As this war was waged purely for the 
promotion of the Christian faith, he thought it meet that 
its enemies should bear the expenses. He levied, there¬ 
fore, a general contribution upon the Jews throughout 
his kingdom, by synagogues and districts: and obliged 
them to render in the proceeds, at the city of Seville.* 

On the 11th of April, Ferdinand and Isabella departed 
for the Moorish frontier, with the solemn determination 
to lay close siege to Granada, and never quit its walls 
until they had planted the standard of the faith on the 
towers of the Alhambra. Many of the nobles of the king¬ 
dom, particularly those from parts remote from the scene 
of action, wearied by the toils of war, and foreseeing that 
this would be a tedious siege, requiring patience and 
vigilance rather than hardy deeds of arms, contented 
themselves with sending their vassals, while they staid at 
home, to attend to their domains. Many cities furnished 
soldiers at their cost, and the king took the field with an 
army of forty thousand infantry and ten thousand horse. 
The principal captains who followed him in this cam¬ 
paign, were Roderigo Ponce de Leon, the marques of 
Cadiz, the master of Santiago, the marques of Villena, 
the counts of Tendilla, Cifuentes, Cabra, and Urena, and 
Don Alonzo de Aguilar. 


* Garibay, lib. 18, c. 89. 


598 


CONQUEST OF OR AN AD A. 


Queen Isabella, accompanied by her son, the Prince 
Juan, and the princesses Juana, Maria, and Cathalina, 
her daughters, proceeded to Alcala la Real, the mountain 
fortress and stronghold of the count de Tendilla. Here 
she remained, to forward supplies to the army, and to be 
ready to repair to the camp, whenever her presence might 
be required. 

The army of Ferdinand poured into the vega, by vari¬ 
ous defiles of the mountains; and, on the 23d of April, 
the royal tent was pitched at a village called Los Ojos 
de Huescar, about a league and a half from Granada. 
At the approach of this formidable force, the harassed 
inhabitants turned pale, and even many of the warriors 
trembled; for they felt that the last desperate struggle 
was at hand. 

Boabdil el Chico assembled his council in the Al¬ 
hambra, from the windows of which they could behold 
the Christian squadrons glistening through clouds of 
dust, as they poured along the vega. The utmost con¬ 
fusion and consternation reigned in the council. Many 
of the members, terrified with the horrors impending 
over their families, advised Boabdil to throw himself 
upon the generosity of the Christian monarch : even sev¬ 
eral of the bravest suggested the possibility of obtain¬ 
ing honorable terms- 

The wazir of the city, A bnl Casim Abdel Melic, was 
called upon to report the state oi the rmblic means for 
sustenance and defense. There were sufficient nrovi- 


MUZAS STURDY RESOLUTION. 


599 


sions, lie said, for a few months’ supply, independent of 
what might exist in the possession of merchants and 
other rich inhabitants. “But of what avail,” said he, 
“ is a supply for a few months, against the sieges of the 
Castilian monarch, which are interminable ? ” 

He produced, also, the lists of men capable of bearing 
arms. “ The number,” said he, “ is great; but what can 
be expected from mere citizen-soldiers ? They vaunt and 
menace, in time of safety; none are so arrogant, when the 
enemy is at a distance—but when the din of war thunders 
at the gates, they hide themselves in terror.” 

When Muza heard these words, he rose with generous 
warmth : “ What reason have we,” said he, “ to despair ? 
The blood of those illustrious Moors, the conquerors of 
Spain, still flows in our veins. Let us be true to our¬ 
selves, and fortune will again be with us. We have a 
veteran force, both horse and foot, the flower of our chiv¬ 
alry, seasoned in war and scarred in a thousand battles. 
As to the multitude of our citizens, spoken of so slightly, 
why should we doubt their valor? There are twenty 
thousand young men, in the fire of youth, whom I will 
engage, that in the defense of their homes they will rival 
the most valiant veterans. Do we want provisions ? Our 
horses are fleet, and our horsemen daring in the foray. 
Let them scour and scourge the country of those apos¬ 
tate Moslems who have surrendered to the Christians. 
Let them make inroads into the lands of our enemies. 
We shall soon see them returning with cavalgadas to our 


600 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


gates; and, to a soldier, there is no morsel so sweet as 
that wrested with hard fighting from the foe.” 

Boabdil, though he wanted firm and durable courage, 
was readily excited to sudden emotions of bravery. He 
caught a glow of resolution from the noble ardor of 
Muza. “ Do what is needful,” said he to his com¬ 
manders ; “ into your hands I confide the common safety. 
You are the protectors of the kingdom, and with the aid 
of Allah, will revenge the insults of our religion, the 
deaths of our friends and relations, and the sorrows and 
sufferings heaped upon our land.” * 

To every one was now assigned his separate duty. 
The wazir had charge of the arms and provisions, and 
the enrolling of the people. Muza was to command the 
cavalry, to defend the gates, and to take the lead in all 
sallies and skirmishings. Naim Reduan, and Muhamed 
Aben Zayde were his adjutants. Abdel Kerim Zegri, 
and the other captains, were to guard the walls; and the 
alcaydes of the Alcazaba, and of the Red Towers, had 
command of the fortresses. 

Nothing now was heard but the din of arms, and the 
bustle of preparation. The Moorish spirit, quick to 
catch fire, was immediately in a flame; and the populace, 
in the excitement of the moment, set at naught the 
power of the Christians. Muza was in all parts of the 
city, infusing his own generous zeal into the bosoms of 


* Conde. 


MUZA’S PRACTICAL BRAVERY. 


601 


the soldiery. The young cavaliers rallied round him as 
their model; the veteran warriors regarded him with a 
soldier’s admiration; the vulgar throng followed him 
with shouts, and the helpless part of the inhabitants, 
the old men and the women, hailed him with blessings as 
their protector. 

On the first appearance of the Christian army, the 
principal gates of the city had been closed, and secured 
with bars and bolts and heavy chains : Muza now or¬ 
dered them to be thrown open; “ To me and my cav¬ 
aliers,” said he, “ is intrusted the defense of the gates; 
our bodies shall be their barriers.” He stationed at 
each gate a strong guard, chosen from his bravest men. 
His horsemen were always completely armed, and ready 
to mount at a moment’s warning; their steeds stood 
saddled and caparisoned in the stables, with lance and 
buckler beside them. On the least approach of the 
enemy, a squadron of horse gathered within the gate, 
ready to launch forth like the bolt from the thunder¬ 
cloud. Muza made no empty bravado nor haughty 
threat; he was more terrible in deeds than in words, and 
executed daring exploits, beyond even the vaunt of the 
vainglorious. Such was the present champion of the 
Moors. Had they possessed many such warriors, or had 
Muza risen to power at an earlier period of the war, the 
fate of Granada might have been deferred, and the Moor 
for a long time have maintained his throne within the 
walls of the Alhambra. 


CHAPTER XCL 


MOW KING FERDINAND CONDUCTED THE SIEGE CAUTIOUSLY ; AND HOW QUEEN 
ISABELLA ARRIVED AT THE CAMP. 



HOUGH Granada was shorn of its glories, and 
nearly cnt off from all external aid, still its 
mighty castles and massive bulwarks seemed 
to set all attack at defiance. Being the last retreat of 
Moorish power, it had assembled within its walls the 
remnants of the armies which had contended, step by 
step, with the invaders, in their gradual conquest of the 
land. All that remained of high-born and high-bred 
chivalry, was here; all that was loyal and patriotic was 
roused to activity by the common danger ; and Granada, 
so long lulled into inaction by vain hopes of security, 
now assumed a formidable aspect in the hour of its 
despair. 

Ferdinand saw that any attempt to subdue the city by 
main force would be perilous and bloody. Cautious in 
his policy, and fond of conquests gained by art rather 
than valor, he resorted to the plan so successful with 
Baza, and determined to reduce the place by famine. 
For this purpose, his armies penetrated into the very 

602 









ARRIVAL OF ISABELLA. 


603 


heart of the Alpuxarras, and ravaged the valleys, and 
sacked and burnt the towns, upon which the city de¬ 
pended for its supplies. Scouting parties, also, ranged 
the mountains behind Granada, and captured every 
casual convoy of provisions. The Moors became more 
daring, as their situation became more hopeless. Never 
had Ferdinand experienced such -vigorous sallies and as¬ 
saults. Muza, at the head of his cavalry, harassed the 
borders of the camp, end even penetrated into the in¬ 
terior, making sudden spoil and ravage, and leaving his 
course to be traced by the slain and wounded. To pro¬ 
tect his camp from these assaults, Ferdinand fortified it 
with deep trenches and strong bulwarks. It was of a 
quadrangular form, divided into streets like a city, the 
troops being quartered in tents, and in booths con¬ 
structed of bushes and branches of trees. When it was 
completed, Queen Isabella came in state, with all her 
court, and the prince and princesses, to be present at the 
siege. This was intended, as on former occasions, to re¬ 
duce the besieged to despair, by showing the determi¬ 
nation of the sovereigns to reside in the camp until the 
city should surrender. Immediately after her arrival, 
the queen rode forth, to survey the camp and its envi¬ 
rons : wherever she went, she was attended by a splendid 
retinue ; and all the commanders vied with each other, 
in the pomp and ceremony with which they received 
her. Nothing was heard, from morning until night, 
but shouts and acclamations, and bursts of martial 


604 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


music; so that it appeared to the Moors as if a con¬ 
tinual festival and triumph reigned in the Christian 
camp. 

The arrival of the queen, however, and the menaced 
obstinacy of the siege, had no effect in damping the fire 
of the Moorish chivalry. Muza inspired the youthful 
warriors with the most devoted heroism: “ We have 
nothing left to fight for,” said he, “ but the ground we 
stand on; when this is lost, we cease to have a country 
and a name.” 

Finding the Christian king forbore to make an attack, 
Muza incited his cavaliers to challenge the youthful chiv¬ 
alry of the Christian army to single combat, or partial 
skirmishes. Scarce a day passed without gallant conflicts 
of the kind, in sight of the city and the camp. The com¬ 
batants rivaled each other in the splendor of their armor 
and array, as well as in the prowess of their deeds. 
Their contests were more like the stately ceremonials of 
tilts and tournaments, than the rude conflicts of the field. 
Ferdinand soon perceived that they animated the fiery 
Moors with fresh zeal and courage, while they cost the 
lives of many of his bravest cavaliers : he again, there¬ 
fore, forbade the acceptance of any individual challenges, 
and ordered that all partial encounters should be avoid¬ 
ed. The cool and stern policy of the Catholic sovereign 
bore hard upon the generous spirits of either army, but 
roused the indignation of the Moors, when they found 
that they were to be subdued in this inglorious manner r 


THE INDIGNATION OF THE MOORS. 


605 


“ Of what avail,” said they, “ are chivalry and heroic 
valor ? the crafty monarch of the Christians has no mag¬ 
nanimity in warfare; he seeks to subdue us through the 
weakness of our bodies, but shuns to encounter the cour¬ 
age of our soulso” 


CHAPTER XCH. 


OF THE INSOLENT DEFIANCE OF TARFE THE MOOR, AND THE DARING EXPLOIT 
OF HERNAN PEREZ DEL PULGAR. 

the Moorish knights beheld that all cour- 
i challenges were unavailing, they sought 
us means to provoke the Christian war¬ 
riors to the field. Sometimes a body of them, fleetly 
mounted, would gallop up to the skirts of the camp, and 
try who should hurl his lance farthest within the bar¬ 
riers, having his name inscribed upon it, or a label af¬ 
fixed, containing some taunting defiance. These brava¬ 
does caused great irritation; still the Spanish warriors 
were restrained by the prohibition of the king. 

Among the Moorish cavaliers was one named Tarfe, 
renowned for strength and daring spirit; but whose 
courage partook of fierce audacity, rather than chivalric 
heroism. In one of these sallies, when skirting the 
Christian camp, this arrogant Moor outstripped his com¬ 
panions, overleaped the barriers, and, galloping close to 
the royal quarters, launched his lance so far within, that 
it remained quivering in the earth close by the pavilions 
of the sovereigns. The royal guards rushed forth in 

606 







EXPLOIT OF PULGAR. 


607 


pursuit, but the Moorish horsemen were already beyond 
the camp, and scouring in a cloud of dust for the city. 
Upon wresting the lance from the earth, a label was 
found upon it, importing that it was intended for the 
queen. 

Nothing could equal the indignation of the Christian 
warriors at the insolence of the bravado, and the dis¬ 
courteous insult offered to the queen. Hernan Perez 
del Pulgar, surnamed “ he of the exploits,” was present, 
and resolved not to be outbraved by this daring infidel: 
“Who will stand by me,” said he, “in an enterprise of 
desperate peril?” The Christian cavaliers well knew 
the hare-brained valor of Hernan, yet not one hesitated 
to step forward. He chose fifteen companions, all of 
powerful arm and dauntless heart. 

His project was to penetrate Granada in the dead of 
the night, by a secret pass, made known to him by a 
Moorish renegade of the city, whom he had christened 
Pedro Pulgar, and who was to act as guide. They were 
to set fire to the Alcaiceria and other principal edifices, 
and then effect their retreat as best they might. At the 
hour appointed, the adventurous troop set forth pro¬ 
vided with combustibles. The renegade led them silent¬ 
ly to a drain or channel of the river Darro, up which 
they proceeded cautiously, single file, until they halted 
under a bridge near the royal gate. Here dismounting, 
Pulgar stationed six of his companions to remain silent 
and motionless and keep guard, while followed by the 


608 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


rest, and still guided by tlie renegade, lie continued up 
the drain or channel of the Darro, which passes under a 
part of the city, and was thus enabled to make his way 
undiscovered into the streets. All was dark and silent. 
At the command of Pulgar, the renegade led him to the 
principal mosque. Here the cavalier, pious as brave, 
threw himself on his knees, and drawing forth a parch¬ 
ment scroll on which was inscribed in large letters Ave 
Mama, nailed it to the door of the mosque, thus convert¬ 
ing the heathen edifice into a Christian chapel, and dedi¬ 
cating it to the blessed Virgin. This done, he hastened 
to the Alcaiceria to set it in a blaze. The combustibles 
were all placed, but Tristan de Montemavor, who had 
charge of the firebrand, had carelessly left it at the door 
of the mosque. It was too late to return there. Pulgar 
was endeavoring to strike fire with flint and steel into 
the raveled end of a cord, when he was startled by the 
approach of the Moorish guard going the rounds. His 
hand was on his sword in an instant. Seconded by his 
brave companions, he assailed the astonished Moors and 
put them to flight. In a little while the whole city re¬ 
sounded with alarms, soldiers were hurrying through the 
streets in every direction; but Pulgar, guided by the 
renegade, made good his retreat by the channel of the 
Darro, to his companions at the bridge, and all mount¬ 
ing their horses, spurred back to the camp. The Moors 
were at a loss to imagine the meaning of this wild and 
apparently fruitless assault; but great was their exas- 


A MOSQUE SANCTIFIED. 


609 


peration, on the following day, when the trophy of hardi¬ 
hood and prowess, the “Ave Maeia,” was discovered 
thus elevated in bravado in the very centre of the city. 
The mosque thus boldly sanctified by Hernan del Pulgar 
was actually consecrated into a cathedral, after the cap¬ 
ture of Granada.* 

* The account here given of the exploit of Hernan del Pulgar, differs 
from that given in the first edition, and is conformable to the record of 
the fact in a manuscript called “ The House of Salar,” existing in the 
library of Salazar, and cited by Alcantara in his History of Granada. 

In commemoration of this daring feat of Pulgar, the Emperor Charles 
V., in after years, conferred on that cavalier, and on his descendants, the 
marquesies of Salar, the privilege of sitting in the choir during high mass, 
and assigned as the place of sepulture of Pulgar himself, the identical 
spot where he kneeled to affix the sacred scroll; and his tomb is still held 
in great veneration. This Hernan Perez del Pulgar was a man of letters, 
as well as arms, and inscribed to Charles Y. a summary of the achieve¬ 
ments of Gonsalvo of Cordova, surnamed the Great Captain, who had 
been one of his comrades in arms. He is often confounded with Her¬ 
nando del Pulgar, historian and secretary to Queen Isabella.—See note to 
Pulgar’s Chron. of the Catholic Sovereigns, part 3, c. iii. edit. Valencia, 
1780. 

88 




CHAPTER XCm. 


HOW QUEEN ISABELLA TOOK A VIEW OF THE CITY OF GRANADA—AND HOW 
HER CURIOSITY COST THE LIVES OF MANY CHRISTIANS AND MOORS. 

EE royal encampment lay so distant from Gra¬ 
nada, that the general aspect of the city only 
could be seen, as it rose gracefully from the 
vega, covering the sides of the hills with palaces and 
towers. Queen Isabella had expressed an earnest desire 
to behold, nearer at hand, a city whose beauty was so 
renowned throughout the world; and the marques of 
Cadiz, with his accustomed courtesy, prepared a great 
military escort and guard, to protect her and the ladies 
of the court, while they enjoyed this perilous gratifi¬ 
cation. 

On the morning of June the 18th, a magnificent and 
powerful train issued from the Christian camp. The 
advanced guard was composed of legions of cavalry, 
heavily armed, looking like moving masses of polished 
steel. Then came the king and queen, with the prince 
and princesses, and the ladies of the court, surrounded 
by the royal body-guard, sumptuously arrayed, composed 
of the sons of the most illustrious houses of Spain; after 

610 












ISABELLA’S VIEW OF TEE ALHAMBRA. 611 


these was the rear-guard, a powerful force of horse and 
foot; for the flower of the army sallied forth that day. 
The Moors gazed with fearful admiration at this glorious 
pageant, wherein the pomp of the court was mingled with 
the terrors of the camp. It moved along in radiant line, 
across the vega, to the melodious thunders of martial 
music; while banner and plume, and silken scarf, and 
rich brocade, gave a gay and gorgeous relief to the grim 
visage of iron war, that lurked beneath. 

The army moved towards the hamlet of Zubia, built on 
the skirts of the mountain to the left of Granada, and 
commanding a view of the Alhambra, and the most 
beautiful quarter of the city. As they approached the 
hamlet, the marques of Villena, the Count Urena, and 
Don Alonzo de Aguilar filed off with their battalions, 
and were soon seen glittering along the side of the 
mountain above the village. In the meantime the mar¬ 
ques of Cadiz, the count de Tendilla, the count de Cabra, 
and Don Alonzo Fernandez, senior of Alcaudrete and 
Montemayor, drew up their forces in battle array on the 
plain below the hamlet, presenting a living barrier of 
loyal chivalry between the sovereigns and the city. 

Thus securely guarded, the royal party alighted, and, 
entering one of the houses of the hamlet, which had been 
prepared for their reception, enjoyed a full view of the 
city from its terraced roof. The ladies of the court 
gazed with delight at the red towers of the Alhambra, 
rising from amid shady groves, anticipating the time 


612 


CONQUEST OF OBAN AD A. 


when tlie Catholic sovereigns should be enthroned with¬ 
in its walls, and its courts shine with the splendor of 
Spanish chivalry. “ The reverend prelates and holy 
friars, who always surrounded the queen, looked with 
serene satisfaction,” says Fray Antonio Agapida, “ at 
this modern Babylon, enjoying the triumph that awaited 
them, when those mosques and minarets should be con¬ 
verted into churches, and goodly priests and bishops 
should succeed to the infidel alfaquis.” 

When the Moors beheld the Christians thus drawn 
forth in full array in the plain, they supposed it was to 
offer battle, and hesitated not to accept it. In a little 
while the queen beheld a body of Moorish cavalry pour¬ 
ing into the vega, the riders managing their fleet and 
fiery steeds with admirable address. They were richly 
armed, and clothed in the most brilliant colors, and the 
caparisons of their steeds flamed with gold and em¬ 
broidery. This was the favorite squadron of Muza, com¬ 
posed of the flower of the youthful cavaliers of Granada. 
Others succeeded, some heavily armed, others a la gineta , 
with lance and buckler; and lastly came the legions of 
foot-soldiers, with arquebus and cross-bow, and spear 
and scimetar. 

When the queen saw this army issuing from the city, 
she sent to the marques of Cadiz, and forbade any attack 
upon the enemy, or the acceptance of any challenge to a 
skirmish; for she was loth that her curiosity should cost 
the life of a single human being. 


THE MOOR’S CHALLENGE. 


613 


The marques promised to obey, though sorely against 
his will; and it grieved the spirit of the Spanish cavaliers 
to be obliged to remain with sheathed swords while 
bearded by the foe. The Moors could not comprehend 
the meaning of this inaction of the Christians, after hav¬ 
ing apparently invited a battle. They sallied several 
times from their ranks, and approached near enough to 
discharge their arrows; but the Christians were immov¬ 
able. Many of the Moorish horsemen galloped close to 
the Christian ranks, brandishing their lances and scime- 
tars, and defying various cavaliers to single combat; but 
Ferdinand had rigorously prohibited all duels of this 
kind, and they dared not transgress his orders under his 
very eye. 

Here, however, the worthy Fray Antonio Agapida, in 
his enthusiasm for the triumphs of the faith, records the 
following incident, which we fear is not sustained by any 
grave chronicler of the times, but rests merely on tra¬ 
dition, or the authority of certain poets and dramatic 
writers, who have perpetuated the tradition in their 
works. While this grim and reluctant tranquillity pre¬ 
vailed along the Christian line, says Agapida, there rose 
a mingled shout and sound of laughter near the gate of 
the city. A Moorish horseman, armed at all points, 
issued forth, followed by a rabble, who drew back as he 
approached the scene of danger. The Moor was more 
robust and brawny than was common with his country¬ 
men. His visor was closed; he bore a huge buckler and 


614 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA, 


a ponderous lance; his scimetar was of a Damascus 
blade, and his richly ornamented dagger was wrought by 
an artificer of Fez. He was known by his device to be 
Tarfe, the most insolent, yet valiant, of the Moslem war¬ 
riors—the same who had hurled into the royal camp his 
lance, inscribed to the queen. As he rode slowly along 
in front of the army, his very steed, prancing with fiery 
eye and distended nostril, seemed to breathe defiance to 
the Christians. 

But what were the feelings of the Spanish cavaliers, 
when they beheld, tied to the tail of his steed, and 
dragged in the dust, the very inscription, “ Ave Maria,” 
which Hernan Perez del Pulgar had affixed to the door 
of the mosque! A burst of horror and indignation broke 
forth from the army. Hernan was not at hand, to main¬ 
tain his previous achievement; but one of his young 
companions in arms, Garcilasso de la Yega by name, 
putting spurs to his horse, galloped to the hamlet of 
Zubia, threw himself on his knees before the king, and 
besought permission to accept the defiance of this in¬ 
solent infidel, and to revenge the insult offered to our 
blessed Lady. The request was too pious to be refused: 
Garcilasso remounted his steed; closed his helmet, 
graced by four sable plumes, grasped his buckler of 
Flemish workmanship, and his lance of matchless tem¬ 
per, and defied the haughty Moor in the midst of his 
career. A combat took place, in view of the two armies 
and of the Castilian court. The Moor was powerful in 


THE DUEL OF TARFE AND GARCILASSO. 015 

wielding his weapons, and dexterous in managing his 
steed. He was of larger frame than Garcilasso, and 
more completely armed; and the Christians trembled 
for their champion. The shock of their encounter was 
dreadful; their lances w~ere shivered, and sent up splin¬ 
ters in the air. Garcilasso was thrown back in his 
saddle—his horse made a wide career before he could 
recover, gather up the reins, and return to the conflict. 
They now encountered each other with swords. The 
Moor circled round his opponent, as a hawk circles 
whereabout to make a swoop; his steed obeyed his 
rider with matchless quickness; at every attack of the 
infidel, it seemed as if the Christian knight must sink 
beneath his flashing scimetar. But if Garcilasso was 
inferior to him in power, he was superior in agility; 
many of his blows he parried; others he received upon 
his Flemish shield, which was proof against the Damas¬ 
cus blade. The blood streamed from numerous wounds 
received by either warrior. The Moor, seeing his antag¬ 
onist exhausted, availed himself of his superior force, 
and, grappling, endeavored to wrest him from his sad¬ 
dle. They both fell to earth; the Moor placed his 
knee upon the breast of his victim, and, brandishing his 
dagger, aimed a blow at his throat. A cry of despair 
was uttered by the Christian warriors, when suddenly 
they beheld the Moor rolling lifeless in the dust. Gar¬ 
cilasso had shortened his sword, and, as his adversary 
raised his arm to strike, had pierced him to the heart. 


616 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


“It was a singular and miraculous victory,” says Fray 
Antonio Agapida; “ but the Christian knight was armed 
by the sacred nature of his cause, and the holy Virgin 
gave him strength, like another David, to slay this gigan¬ 
tic champion of the Gentiles.” 

The laws of chivalry were observed throughout the 
combat—no one interfered on either side. Garcilasso 
now despoiled his adversary; then, rescuing the holy 
inscription of “Aye Maria” from its degrading situation, 
he elevated it on the point of his sword, and bore it off 
as a signal of triumph, amidst the rapturous shouts of 
the Christian army.* 

The sun had now reached the meridian; and the hot 
blood of the Moors was inflamed by its rays, and by the 
sight of the defeat of their champion. Muza ordered 
two pieces of ordnance to open a fire upon the Chris¬ 
tians. A confusion was produced in one part of their 
ranks: Muza called to the chiefs of the army, “Let us 
waste no more time in empty challenges—let us charge 
upon the enemy: he who assaults has always an advan¬ 
tage in the combat.” So saying, he rushed forward, fol¬ 
lowed by a large body of horse and foot, and charged so 
furiously upon the advance guard of the Christians, that 
he drove it in upon the battalion of the marques of Cadiz. 

The gallant marques now considered himself absolved 

* The above incident has been commemorated in old Spanish ballads, 
and made the subject of a scene in an old Spanish drama, ascribed by 
some to Lope de Vega. 


"THE QUEEN*8 SKIRMISH: 


617 


from all further obedience to the queen’s commands. 
He gave the signal to attack. “ Santiago! ” was shouted* 
along the line; and he pressed forward to the encounter, 
with his battalion of twelve hundred lances. The other 
cavaliers followed his example, and the battle instantly 
became general. 

When the king and queen beheld the armies thus 
rushing to the combat, they threw themselves on their 
knees, and implored the holy Virgin to protect her faith¬ 
ful warriors. The prince and princess, the ladies of the 
court, and the prelates and friars who were present, did 
the same; and the effect of the prayers of these illus¬ 
trious and saintly persons, was immediately apparent. 
The fierceness with which the Moors had rushed to the 
attack was suddenly cooled; they were bold and adroit 
for a skirmish, but unequal to the veteran Spaniards in 
the open field. A panic seized upon the foot-soldiers— 
they turned, and took to flight. Muza and his cavaliers 
in vain endeavored to rally them. Some took refuge in 
the mountains; but the greater part fled to the city, in 
such confusion that they overturned and trampled upon 
each other. The Christians pursued them to the very 
gates. Upwards of two thousand were either killed, 
wounded, or taken prisoners; and the two pieces of ord¬ 
nance were brought off as trophies of the victory. Not 
a Christian lance but was bathed that day in the blood 
of an infidel.* 

* Cura de los Palacios, cap. 101. Zurita, lib. 20, cap. 88. 


618 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA . 


Such was the brief but bloody action, which was 
known among the Christian warriors by the name of 
“the queen’s skirmish;” for when the marques of Cadiz 
waited upon her majesty to apologize for breaking her 
commands, he attributed the victory entirely to her pres¬ 
ence. The queen, however, insisted that it was all ow¬ 
ing to her troops being led on by so valiant a com¬ 
mander. Her majesty had not yet recovered from her 
agitation at beholding so terrible a scene of bloodshed, 
though certain veterans present pronounced it as gay 
and gentle a skirmish as they had ever witnessed. 

The gayety of this gentle pass at arms, however, was 
somewhat marred by a rough reverse in the evening. 
Certain of the Christian cavaliers, among whom were the 
count de Urena, Don Alonzo Aguilar, his brother Gon- 
salvo of Cordova, Diego Castrillo, commander of Cala- 
trava, and others to the number of fifty, remained in 
ambush near Armilla, expecting the Moors would sally 
forth at night to visit the scene of battle and to bury 
their dead. They were discovered by a Moor, who had 
climbed an elm-tree to reconnoiter, and hastened into the 
city to give notice of their ambush. Scarce had night 
fallen when the cavaliers found themselves surrounded 
by a host which in the darkness seemed innumerable. 
The Moors attacked them with sanguinary fury, to re¬ 
venge the disgrace of the morning. The cavaliers fought 
to every disadvantage, overwhelmed by numbers, igno¬ 
rant of the ground, perplexed by thickets and by the 


A NOCTURNAL AMBUSH. 


619 


water-courses of the gardens, the sluices of which were 
all thrown open. Even retreat was difficult. The count 
de Urena was surrounded and in imminent peril, from 
which he was saved by two of his faithful followers 
at the sacrifice of their lives. Several cavaliers lost 
their horses, and were themselves put to death in the 
water-courses. Gonsalvo of Cordova came near having 
his own illustrious career cut short in this obscure skir¬ 
mish. He had fallen into a water-course, whence he ex¬ 
tricated himself, covered with mud, and so encumbered 
with his armor, that he could not retreat. Inigo de 
Mendoza, a relative of his brother Alonzo, seeing his 
peril, offered him his horse : “ Take it, Senor,” said he, 
“ for you cannot save yourself on foot, and I can: but 
should I fall, take care of my wife and daughters.” 

Gonsalvo accepted the devoted offer, mounted the 
horse, and had made but few paces, when a lamentable 
cry caused him to turn his head, and he beheld the faith¬ 
ful Mendoza transfixed by Moorish lances. The four 
principal cavaliers already named, with several of their 
followers, effected their retreat and reached the camp in 
safety; but this nocturnal reverse obscured the morn¬ 
ing’s triumph. Gonsalvo remembered the last words of 
the devoted Mendoza, and bestowed a pension on his 
widow and marriage portions on his daughters.* 

* The account of this nocturnal affair, is from Peter Martyr, lib. 4, 
Epist. 90, and Pulgar, Hazanas del Oran. Capita/n , page 188, as cited by 
Alcantara, Hist. Granada, tom. 4, cap. 18. 


620 


CONQUEST OF OH AN AD A. 


To commemorate tlie victory of which she had been an 
eye-witness, Queen Isabella afterwards erected a monas¬ 
tery in the village of Zubia, dedicated to St. Francisco, 
which still exists, and in its garden is a laurel planted by 
her hands.* 

* The house whence the king and queen contemplated the battle, is 
likewise to be seen at the present day. It is the first street to the right 
on entering the village from the vega ; and the royal arms are painted on 
the ceilings. It is inhabited by a worthy farmer, Francisco Garcia, who 
in showing the house to the writer, refused all compensation, with true 
Spanish pride ; offering, on the contrary, the hospitalities of his mansion. 
His children are versed in the old Spanish ballads, about the exploits of 
Hernan Perez del Pulgar and Garcilasso de la Yega. 


CHAPTER XCIY. 


THE LAST RAVAGE BEFORE GRANADA. 

ravages of war had as yet spared a little 
rtion of the vega of Granada. A green belt 
gardens and orchards still flourished round 
the city, extending along the banks of the Xenil and the 
Darro. They had been the solace and delight of the in¬ 
habitants in their happier days, and contributed to their 
sustenance in this time of scarcity. Ferdinand deter¬ 
mined to make a final and exterminating ravage to the 
very walls of the city, so that there should not remain a 
single green thing for the sustenance of man or beast. 
The eighth of July was the day appointed for this act of 
desolation. Boabdil was informed by his spies of the 
intention of the Christian king, and prepared to make a 
desperate defense. Hernando de Baeza, a Christian, who 
resided with the royal family in the Alhambra as inter¬ 
preter, gives in a manuscript memoir an account of tho 
parting of Boabdil from his family as he went forth to 
battle. At an early hour of the appointed day, the eighth! 
vf July, he bathed and perfumed himself as the Moors of 
high rank were accustomed to do when they went forth 

621 





622 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


to peril their lives. Arrayed in complete armor he took 
leave of his mother, his wife, and his sister, in the ante¬ 
chamber of the tower of Comares. Ayxa la Horra, with 
her usual dignity, bestowed on Him her benediction, and 
gave him her hand to kiss. It was a harder parting with 
his son and his daughter, who hung round him with sobs 
and tears; the duenas and doncellas too, of the royal 
household, made the halls of the Alhambra resound with 
their lamentations. He then mounted his horse and put 
himself in front of his squadrons.* 

The Christian army approached close to the city, and 
were laying waste the gardens and orchards, when Boab- 
dil sallied forth, surrounded by all that was left of the 
flower and chivalry of Granada. There is one place 
where even the coward becomes brave—that sacred spot 
called home. What then must have been the valor of 
the Moors, a people always of chivalrous spirit, when 
the war was thus brought to their thresholds! They 
fought among the scenes of their loves and pleasures, 
the scenes of their infancy, and the haunts of their 
domestic life. They fought under the eyes of their 
wives and children, their old men and their maidens, 
of all that was helpless and all that was dear to them; 
for all Granada, crowded on tower and battlement, 
watched with trembling heart the fate of this eventful 
day. 

* Hernando de Baeza, as cited by Alcantara, Hist. Granada , tom. 4, 
cap. 18. 


DESTRUCTION OF TEE GARDENS OF GRANADA . 623 

There was not so much one battle, as a variety of bat¬ 
tles ; every garden and orchard became a scene of deadly 
contest; every inch of ground was disputed, with an 
agony of grief and valor, by the Moors; every inch of 
ground that the Christians advanced, they valiantly 
maintained; but never did they advance with severer 
fighting, or greater loss of blood. 

The cavalry of Muza was in every part of the field; 
wherever it came, it gave fresh ardor to the fight. The 
Moorish soldier, fainting with heat, fatigue, and wounds, 
was roused to new life at the approach of Muza; and 
even he who lay gasping in the agonies of death, turned 
his face towards him, and faintly uttered cheers and 
blessings as he passed. 

The Christians had by this time gained possession 
of various towers near the city, whence they had been 
annoyed by cross-bows and arquebuses. The Moors, 
scattered in various actions, were severely pressed. 
Boabdil, at the head of the cavaliers of his guard, 
mingling in the fight in various parts of the field, en¬ 
deavored to inspirit the foot-soldiers to the combat. 
But the Moorish infantry was never to be depended 
upon. In the heat of the action, a panic seized upon 
them; they fled, leaving their sovereign exposed with 
his handful of cavaliers to an overwhelming force. Bo¬ 
abdil was on the point of falling into the hands of the 
Christians, when, wheeling round, he and his follow¬ 
ers threw the reins on the necks of their steeds, and 


624 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


took refuge by dint of hoof within the walls of the 
city.* 

Muza endeavored to retrieve the fortune of the field. 
He threw himself before the retreating infantry, calling 
upon them to turn and fight for their homes, their fami¬ 
lies, for everything sacred and dear to them. All in vain: 
totally broken and dismayed, they fled tumultuously for 
the gates. Muza would fain have kept the field with 
his cavalry; but this devoted band, having stood the 
brunt of war throughout this desperate campaign, was 
fearfully reduced in numbers, and many of the survivors 
were crippled and enfeebled by their wounds. Slowly 
and reluctantly, therefore, he retreated to the city, his 
bosom swelling with indignation and despair. Entering 
the gates, he ordered them to be closed, and secured 
with bolts and bars: for he refused to place any further 
confidence in the archers and arquebusiers stationed to 
defend them, and vowed never more to sally with foot- 
soldiers to the field. 

In the meantime the artillery thundered from the 
walls, and checked all further advance of the Christians. 
King Ferdinand, therefore, called off his troops, and re¬ 
turned in triumph to the ruins of his camp, leaving the 
beautiful city of Granada wrapped in the smoke of her 
fields and gardens, and surrounded by the bodies of her 
slaughtered children. 


* Zurita, lib. 20, cap. 88. 


LAST SALLY OF THE MOORS. 


625 


Such was the last sally of the Moors, in defense of 
their favorite city. The French ambassador, who wit¬ 
nessed it, was filled with wonder, at the prowess, the dex¬ 
terity, and daring of the Moslems. 

In truth, this whole war was an instance, memorable in 
history, of the most persevering resolution. For nearly 
ten years had the war endured—an almost uninterrupted 
series of disasters to the Moorish arms. Their towns 
had been taken, one after another, and their brethren 
slain or led into captivity. Yet they disputed every city 
and town, and fortress and castle, nay every rock itself, 
as if they had been inspirited by victories. Wherever 
they could plant foot to fight, or find wall or cliff whence 
to launch an arrow, they disputed their beloved country ; 
and now, when their capital was cut off from all relief, 
and a whole nation thundered at its gates, they still 
maintained defense, as if they hoped some miracle to 
interpose in their behalf. Their obstinate resistance 
(says an ancient chronicler) shows the grief with which 
they yielded up the vega, which was to them a paradise 
and heaven. Exerting all the strength of their arms, they 
embraced, as it were, that most beloved soil, from which 
neither wounds, nor defeats, nor death itself, could part 
them. They stood firm, battling for it with the united 
force of love and grief, never drawing back the foot while 
they had hands to fight, or fortune to befriend them.* 

* Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, R. 30. cap. 3. 


40 


CHAPTER XCV. 


CONFLAGRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN CAMP.—BUILDING OF SANTA FlS. 

HE Moors now shut themselves up gloomily 
within their walls; there were no longer any 
daring sallies from their gates; and even the 
martial clangor of the drum and trumpet, which had con¬ 
tinually resounded within that warrior city, was now sel¬ 
dom heard from its battlements. In the midst of this deep 
despondency, a signal disaster in the Christian camp, for 
a moment lit up a ray of hope in the bosom of the Moors. 

The setting sun of a hot summer’s day, on the 10th of 
July, shone splendidly upon the Christian camp, which 
was in a bustle of preparation for the next day’s service, 
when an attack was meditated on the city. The camp 
made a glorious appearance. The various tents of the 
royal family and the attendant nobles were adorned with 
rich hangings, and sumptuous devices, and costly furni¬ 
ture ; forming as it were, a little city of silk and brocade, 
where the pinnacles of pavilions of various gay colors, 
surmounted with waving standards and fluttering pen¬ 
nons, might vie with the domes and minarets of the capi¬ 
tal they were besieging. 

In the midst of this little gaudy metropolis, the lofty 

626 











CONFLAGRATION OF THE CAMP . 


627 


tent of the queen domineered over the rest like a stately 
palace. The marques of Cadiz had courteously surren¬ 
dered his own tent to the queen. It was the most com¬ 
plete and sumptuous in Christendom, and had been car¬ 
ried about with him throughout the war. In the centre 
rose a stately alfaneque or pavilion, in oriental taste, the 
rich hangings being supported by columns of lances, and 
ornamented with martial devices. This central pavilion, 
or silken tower, was surrounded by other compartments, 
some of painted linen lined with silk, and all separated 
from each other by curtains. It was one of those camp 
palaces which are raised and demolished in an instant, 
like the city of canvas which surrounds them. 

As the evening advanced, the bustle in the camp sub¬ 
sided. Every one sought repose, preparatory to the next 
day’s trial. The king retired early, that he might be up 
with the crowing of the cock, to head the destroying 
army in person. All stir of military preparation was 
hushed in the royal quarters; the very sound of min¬ 
strelsy was mute, and not the tinkling of a guitar was to 
be heard from the tents of the fair ladies of the court. 

The queen had retired to the innermost part of her 
pavilion, where she was performing her orisons before a 
private altar; perhaps the peril to Avhich the king might 
be exposed in the next day’s foray, inspired her with 
more than usual devotion. While thus at her prayers, 
she was suddenly aroused by a glare of light, and 
wreaths of suffocating smoke. In an instant, the whole 


628 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


tent was in a blaze ; there was a high gusty wind, which 
whirled the light flames from tent to tent, and wrapped 
the whole in one conflagration. 

Isabella had barely time to save herself by instant 
flight. Her first thought, on being extricated from her 
tent, was for the safety of the king. She rushed to his 
tent, but the vigilant Ferdinand was already at the en- 
trance of it. Starting from bed on the first alarm, and 
fancying it an assault of the enemy, he had seized his 
sword and buckler, and sallied forth undressed, with his 
cuirass upon his arm. 

The late gorgeous camp was now a scene of wild con- 
fusion. The flames kept spreading from one pavilion to 
another, glaring upon the rich armor, and golden and 
silver vessels, which seemed melting in the fervent heat. 
Many of the soldiers had erected booths and bowers of 
branches, which, being dry, crackled and blazed, and 
added to the rapid conflagration. The ladies of the 
court fled, shrieking and half-dressed, from their tents. 
There was an alarm of drum and trumpet, and a dis¬ 
tracted hurry about the camp of men half armed. The 
prince Juan had been snatched out of bed by an attend¬ 
ant, and conveyed to the quarters of the count de Cabra, 
which were at the entrance of the camp. The loyal 
count immediately summoned his people, and those of 
his cousin Don Alonzo de Montemayor, and formed a 
guard round the tent in which the prince was sheltered. 

The idea that this was a stratagem of the Moors, soon 


CONFLAGRATION OF THE CAMP. 


629 


subsided; but it was feared they might take advantage 
of it, to assault the camp. The marques of Cadiz, there¬ 
fore, sallied forth with three thousand horse, to check 
any advance from the city. As they passed along, the 
whole camp was a scene of hurry and consternation— 
some hastening to their posts, at the call of drum and 
trumpet; some attempting to save rich effects and glitter¬ 
ing armor from the tents, others dragging along terrified 
and restive horses. 

When they emerged from the camp, they found the 
whole firmament illuminated. The flames whirled up in 
long light spires, and the air was filled with sparks and 
cinders. A bright glare was thrown upon the city, re¬ 
vealing every battlement and tower. Turbaned heads 
were seen gazing from every roof, and armor gleamed 
along the walls; yet not a single warrior sallied from the 
gates: the Moors suspected some stratagem on the part 
of the Christians, and kept quietly within their walls. 
By degrees, the flames expired; the city faded from 
sight; all again became dark and quiet, and the marques 
of Cadiz returned with his cavalry to the camp. 

When the day dawned on the Christian camp, nothing 
remained of that beautiful assemblage of stately pavil¬ 
ions, but heaps of smouldering rubbish, with helms and 
corselets and other furniture of war, and masses of 
melted gold and silver glittering among the ashes. The 
wardrobe of the queen was entirely destroyed, and there 
was an immense loss in plate, jewels, costly stuffs, and 


630 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


sumptuous armor of the luxurious nobles. The fire at 
first had been attributed to treachery, but on investiga¬ 
tion it proved to be entirely accidental. The queen, on 
retiring to her prayers, had ordered her lady in attend¬ 
ance to remove a light burning near her couch, lest it 
should prevent her sleeping. Through heedlessness, the 
taper was placed in another part of the tent, near the 
hangings, which being blown against it by a gust of wind, 
immediately took fire. 

The wary Ferdinand knew the sanguine temperament 
of the Moors, and hastened to prevent their deriving 
confidence from the night’s disaster. At break of day, 
the drums and trumpets sounded to arms, and the Chris¬ 
tian army issued forth from among the smoking ruins of 
their camp, in shining squadrons, with flaunting banners 
and bursts of martial melody, as though the preceding 
night had been a time of high festivity, instead of terror. 

The Moors had beheld the conflagration with wonder 
and perplexity. When the day broke, and they looked 
towards the Christian camp, they saw nothing but a 
dark, smoking mass. Their scouts came in with the joy¬ 
ful intelligence that the whole camp was a scene of ruin. 
In the exultation of the moment, they flatte*ed them¬ 
selves with hopes that the catastrophe would discourage 
the besiegers ; that as in former years, their invasion 
would end with the summer and they would withdraw 
before the autumnal rains. 

The measures of Ferdinand and Isabella soon crushed 


BUILDING OF SANTA F& 


631 


these hopes. They gave orders to build a regular city 
upon the site of their camp, to convince the Moors that 
the siege was to endure until the surrender of Granada. 
Nine of the principal cities of Spain were charged with 
this stupendous undertaking, and they emulated each 
other, with a zeal worthy of the cause. “ It verily 
seems,” says Fray Antonio Agapida, “as though some 
miracle operated to aid this pious work, so rapidly did 
arise a formidable city, with solid edifices, and powerful 
walls, and mighty towers, where lately had been seen 
nothing but tents and light pavilions.” The city was 
traversed by two principal streets in form of a cross, 
terminating in four gates facing the four winds; and in 
the centre was a vast square, where the whole army 
might be assembled. To this city it was proposed to 
give the name of Isabella, so dear to the army and 
the nation; “ but that pious princess,” adds Antonio 
Agapida, “calling to mind the holy cause in which it 
was erected, gave it the name of Santa Fe (or the City 
of the Holy Faith); and it remains to this day, a monu¬ 
ment of the piety and glory of the Catholic sovereigns.” 

Hither the merchants soon resorted, from all points. 
Long trains of mules were seen every day entering and 
departing from its gates ; the streets were crowded with 
magazines, filled with all kinds of costly and luxurious 
merchandise ; a scene of bustling commerce and pros¬ 
perity took place, while unhappy Granada remained shut 
up and desolate. 


CHAPTER XCVI. 


FAMINE AND DISCORD IN THE CITY. 


besieged city now began to suffer the dis- 
iss of famine. Its supplies were all cut off; 
cavalgada of flocks and herds, and mules 
laden with money, coming to the relief of the city from 
the mountains of the Alpuxarras, was taken by the mar¬ 
ques of Cadiz, and led in triumph to the camp, in sight of 
the suffering Moors. Autumn arrived; but the harvests 
had been swept from the face of the country; a rigorous 
winter was approaching, and the city was almost desti¬ 
tute of provisions. The people sank into deep despon¬ 
dency. They called to mind all that had been predicted 
by astrologers at the birth of their ill-starred sovereign, 
and all that had been foretold of the fate of Granada at 
the time of the capture of Zahara. 

Boabdil was alarmed by the gathering dangers from 
without, and by the clamors of his starving people. He 
summoned a council, composed of the principal officers 
of the army, the alcaydes of the fortresses, the xequis or 
sages of the city, and the alfaquis or doctors of the faith. 
They assembled in the great hall of audience of the Al- 









SCARCITY CF PROVISIONS. 


633 


hambra, and despair was painted in their countenances. 
Boabdil demanded of them, what was to be done in the 
present extremity; and their answer was, “Surrender.’*’ 
The venerable Abul Cazim, governor of the city, repre¬ 
sented its unhappy state: “ Our granaries are nearly 
exhausted, and no further supplies are to be expected. 
The provender for the war-horses is required as suste¬ 
nance for the soldiery; the very horses themselves are 
killed for food; of seven thousand steeds which once 
could be sent into the field, three hundred only remain. 
Our city contains two hundred thousand inhabitants, old 
and young, with each a mouth that calls piteously for 
bread.” 

The xequis and principal citizens declared that the 
people could no longer sustain the labors and sufferings 
of a defense : “ And of what avail is our defense,” said 
they, “when the enemy is determined to persist in the 
siege ?—what alternative remains, but to surrender or to 
die ? ” 

The heart of Boabdil was touched by this appeal, and 
he maintained a gloomy silence. He had cherished some 
faint hope of relief from the soldan of Egypt or the Bar¬ 
bary powers; but it was now at an end; even if such 
assistance were to be sent, he had no longer a seaport 
where it might debark. The counselors saw that the 
resolution of the king was shaken, and they united their 
voices in urging him to capitulate. 

Muza alone rose in opposition: “ It is yet too early,” 


634 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


said he, “ to talk of a surrender. Our means are not ex¬ 
hausted ; we have yet one source of strength remaining, 
terrible in its effects, and which often has achieved the 
most signal victories—it is our despair. Let us rouse 
the mass of the people; let us put weapons in their 
hands; let us fight the enemy to the very utmost, until 
we rush upon the points of their lances. I am ready to 
lead the way into the thickest of their squadrons; and 
much rather would I be numbered among those who fell 
in the defense of Granada, than of those who survived to 
capitulate for her surrender! ” 

The words of Muza were without effect, for they were 
addressed to broken-spirited and heartless men, or men, 
perhaps, to whom sad experience had taught discretion. 
They were arrived at that state of public depression, 
when heroes and heroism are no longer regarded, and 
when old men and their counsels rise into importance. 
Boabdil el Chico yielded to the general voice; it was 
determined to capitulate with the Christian sovereigns; 
and the venerable Abul Cazim was sent forth to the 
camp, empowered to treat for terms. 


CHAPTER XCVn. 


CAPITULATION OF GRANADA. 



HE old governor Abul Cazim was received with 
great courtesy by Ferdinand and Isabella, who 
being informed of the purport of his embassy, 
granted the besieged a truce of sixty days from the 5th 
of October, and appointed Gonsalvo of Cordova, and 
Fernando de Zafra, the secretary of the king, to treat 
about the terms of surrender with such commissioners 
as might be named by Boabdil. The latter on his part 
named Abul Cazim, Aben Comixa the vizier, and the 
grand cadi. As a pledge of good faith, Boabdil gave 
his son in hostage, who was taken to Moclin, where he 
was treated with the greatest respect and attention by 
the good count de Tendilla, as general of the frontier. 

The commissioners on both parts held repeated con¬ 
ferences in secret in the dead of the night, at the village 
of Churriana—those who first arrived at the place of 
meeting giving notice to the others by signal-fires, or by 
means of spies. After many debates and much difficulty, 
the capitulation was signed on the 25th of November. 
According to this, the city was to be delivered up. 

635 







636 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


with all its gates, towers, and fortresses, within sixty 
days. 

All Christian captives should be liberated, without 
ransom. 

Boabdil and his principal cavaliers should perform the 
act of homage, and take an oath of fealty to the Castilian 
crown. 

The Moors of Granada should become subjects of the 
Spanish sovereigns, retaining their possessions, their 
arms and horses, and yielding up nothing but their artil¬ 
lery. They should be protected in the exercise of their 
religion, and governed by their own laws, administered 
by cadis of their own faith, under governors appointed 
by the sovereigns. They should be exempted from trib¬ 
ute for three years, after which term they should pay 
the same that they had been accustomed to render to 
their native monarchs. 

Those w T ho chose to depart for Africa within three 
years, should be provided with a passage for themselves 
and their effects, free of charge, from whatever port they 
should prefer. 

For the fulfillment of these articles, five hundred host¬ 
ages from the principal families were required, previous 
to the surrender, who should be treated with great re¬ 
spect and distinction by the Christians, and subsequently 
restored. The son of the king of Granada, and all other 
hostages in possession of the Castilian sovereigns, were 
to be restored at the same time. 


ARTICLES OF CAPITULATION. 


637 


Such are the main articles affecting the public weal, 
which were agreed upon after much discussion by the 
mixed commission. There were other articles, however, 
secretly arranged, which concerned the royal family. 
These secured to Boabdil, to his wife Morayma, his 
mother Ayxa, his brothers, and to Zoraya, the widow of 
Muley Abul Hassan, all the landed possessions, houses, 
mills, baths, and other hereditaments which formed the 
royal patrimony, with the power of selling them person¬ 
ally or by agent, at any and all times. To Boabdil was 
secured, moreover, his wealthy estates, both in and out 
of Granada, and to him and his decendants in perpe¬ 
tuity, the lordships of various towns and lands and fer¬ 
tile valleys in the Alpuxarras, forming a petty sover¬ 
eignty. In addition to all which it was stipulated, that, 
on the day of surrender, he should receive thirty thou¬ 
sand Castellanos of gold.* 

The conditions of the surrender being finally agreed 
upon by the commissioners, Abul Cazim proceeded to the 
royal camp at Sante Fe, where they were signed by Fer¬ 
dinand and Isabella; he then returned to Granada, ac¬ 
companied by Fernando de Zafra, the royal secretary, to 
have the same ratified also by the Moorish king. Boab¬ 
dil assembled his council, and with a dejected counte¬ 
nance laid before it the articles of capitulation as the 
best that could be obtained from the besieging foe. 


* Alcantara, tom. 4, cap. 18. 


633 


CONQUEST OF ORAN AD A. 


When the members of the council found the awful 
moment arrived when they were to sign and seal the per¬ 
dition of their empire, and blot themselves out as a na¬ 
tion, all firmness deserted them, and many gave way to 
tears. Muza alone retained an unaltered mien : “ Leave, 
seniors,” cried he, “ this idle lamentation to helpless wo¬ 
men and children: we are men—we have hearts, not to 
shed tender tears, but drops of blood. I see the spirit 
of the people so cast down, that it is impossible to save 
the kingdom. Yet there still remains an alternative for 
noble minds—a glorious death ! Let us die defending our 
liberty, and avenging the woes of Granada. Our mother 
earth will receive her children into her bosom, safe from 
the chains and oppressions of the conqueror; or, should 
any fail a sepulchre to hide his remains, he will not want 
a sky to cover him. Allah forbid it should be said the 
nobles of Granada feared to die in her defense ! ” 

Muza ceased to speak, and a dead silence reigned in the 
assembly. Boabdil looked anxiously round, and scanned 
every face; but he read in all the anxiety of care-worn 
men, in whose hearts enthusiasm was dead, and who had 
grown callous to every chivalrous appeal. “ Allah Ach- 
bar! ” exclaimed he ; “ there is no God but God, and Ma¬ 
homet is his prophet! We have no longer forces in the 
city and the kingdom to resist our powerful enemies. It 
is in vain to struggle against the will of Heaven. Too 
surely was it written in the book of fate, that I should 
be unfortunate, and the kingdom expire under my rule.” 


LAST WORDS OF MUZA. 


639 


“Allah Achbar! ” echoed the viziers and alfaquis; “the 
will of God be done ! ” So they all agreed with the king, 
that these evils were preordained; that it was hopeless to 
contend with them; and that the terms offered by the Cas¬ 
tilian monarchs were as favorable as could be expected. 

When Muza heard them assent to the treaty of sur¬ 
render, he rose in violent indignation: “ Do not deceive 
yourselves,” cried he, “ nor think the Christians will be 
faithful to their promises, or their king as magnanimous 
in conquest as he has been victorious in war. Death is 
the least we have to fear. It is the plundering and sack¬ 
ing of our city, the profanation of our mosques, the ruin 
of our homes, the violation of our wives and daughters, 
cruel oppression, bigoted intolerance, whips and chains, 
the dungeon, the fagot, and the stake—such are the 
miseries and indignities we shall see and suffer; at least, 
those groveling souls will see and suffer them, who now 
shrink from an honorable death. For my part, by Allah, 
I will never witness them! ” 

With these words he left the council-chamber, and 
passed gloomily through the Court of Lions, and the 
outer halls of the Alhambra, without deigning to speak 
to the obsequious courtiers who attended in them. He 
repaired to his dwelling, armed himself at all points, 
mounted his favorite war-horse, and, issuing from the 
city by the gate of Elvira, was never seen or heard of 
more.* 


Conde, pt. 4. 


CHAPTER XCVm. 


COMMOTIONS IN GRANADA. 


HE capitulation for the surrender of Granada 
was signed on the 25th of November, 1491, and 
produced a sudden cessation of those hostili¬ 
ties which had raged for so many years. Christian and 
Moor might now be seen mingling courteously on the 
banks of the Xenil and the Darro, where to have met a 
few days previous would have produced a scene of san¬ 
guinary contest. Still, as the Moors might be suddenly 
roused to defense, if, within the allotted term of sixty 
days, succors should arrive from abroad; and as they 
were at all times a rash, inflammable people, the wary 
Ferdinand maintained a vigilant watch upon the city, and 
permitted no supplies of any kind to enter. His garri¬ 
sons in the seaports, and his cruisers in the Straits of 
Gibraltar, were ordered likewise to guard against any 
relief from the grand soldan of Egypt or the princes 
of Barbary. There was no need of such precautions. 
Those powers were either too much engrossed by their 
own wars, or too much daunted by the success of the 
Spanish arms, to interfere in a desperate cause; and 

640 




REAPPEARANCE OF THE SANTON. 


641 


the unfortunate Moors of Granada were abandoned to 
their fate. 

The month of December had nearly passed away; the 
famine became extreme, and there was no hope of any 
favorable event within the term specified in the capitu¬ 
lation. Boabdil saw, that to hold out to the end of the 
allotted time would but be to protract the miseries of 
his people. With the consent of his council, he deter¬ 
mined to surrender the city on the sixth of January. 
He accordingly sent his grand vizier, Yusef Aben Co- 
mixa, to King Ferdinand, to make known his intention; 
bearing him, at the same time, a present of a mag¬ 
nificent scimetar, and two Arabian steeds superbly capa 
risoned. 

The unfortunate Boabdil was doomed to meet with 
trouble, to the end of his career. The very next day, the 
santon or dervise, Hamet Aben Zarrax, the same who 
had uttered prophecies and excited commotion on former 
occasions, suddenly made his appearance. Whence he 
came no one knew; it was rumored that he had been in 
the mountains of the Alpuxarras, and on the coast of 
Barbary, endeavoring to rouse the Moslems to the relief 
of Granada. He was reduced to a skeleton; his eyes 
glowed like coals in their sockets, and his speech was 
little better than frantic raving. He harangued the 
populace, in the streets and squares; inveighed against 
the capitulation, denounced the king and nobles as Mos¬ 
lems only in name, and called upon the people to sally 
41 


642 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


forth against the unbelievers, for that Allah had decreed 
them a signal victory. 

Upwards of twenty thousand of the populace seized 
their arms, and paraded the streets with shouts and out¬ 
cries. The shops and houses were shut up; the king 
himself did not dare to venture forth, but remained a 
kind of prisoner in the Alhambra. 

The turbulent multitude continued roaming and shout¬ 
ing and howling about the city, during the day and a 
part of the night. Hunger, and a wintry tempest, tamed 
their frenzy; and when morning came, the enthusiast 
who had led them on had disappeared. Whether he had 
been disposed of by the emissaries of the king, or by the 
leading men of the city, is not known: his disappearance 
remains a mystery/ 14 

Boabdil now issued forth from the Alhambra, attended 
by his principal nobles, and harangued the populace. 
He set forth the necessity of complying with the capitu¬ 
lation, from the famine that reigned in the city, the futil¬ 
ity of defense, and from the hostages having already been 
delivered into the hands of the besiegers. 

In the dejection of his spirits, the unfortunate Boabdil 
attributed to himself the miseries of the country. “It 
was my crime in ascending the throne in rebellion 
against my father,” said he mournfully, “which has 
brought these woes upon the kingdom; but Allah has 


* Mariana. 


HAUGHTY SCRUPLES OF AYXA. 


643 


grievously visited my sins upon my head. For your 
sake, my people, I have now made this treaty, to protect 
you from the sword, your little ones from famine, your 
wives and daughters from outrage; and to secure you in 
the enjoyment of your properties, your liberties, your 
laws, and your religion, under a sovereign of happier 
destinies than the ill-starred Boabdil.” 

The versatile population were touched by the humility 
of their sovereign—they agreed to adhere to the capitu¬ 
lation, and there was even a faint shout of “Long live 
Boabdil the Unfortunate! ” and they all returned to their 
homes in perfect tranquillity. 

Boabdil immediately sent missives to King Ferdinand, 
apprising him of these events, and of his fears lest fur¬ 
ther delay should produce new tumults. The vizier 
Yusef Aben Comixa was again the agent between the 
monarchs. He was received with unusual courtesy and 
attention by Ferdinand and Isabella, and it was arranged 
between them that the surrender should take place on 
the second day of January instead of the sixth. A new 
difficulty now arose in regard to the ceremonial of sur¬ 
render. The haughty Ayxa la Horra, whose pride rose 
with the decline of her fortunes, declared that, as sultana 
mother, she would never consent that her son should 
stoop to the humiliation of kissing the hand of his con¬ 
querors, and, unless this part of the ceremonial were 
modified, she would find means to resist a surrender 
accompanied by such indignities. 


644 


CONQUEST OF OR AN AD A. 


Aben Comixa was sorely troubled by this opposition. 
He knew the high spirit of the indomitable Ayxa, and 
her influence over her less heroic son, and wrote an 
urgent letter on the subject to his friend, the count de 
Tendilla. The latter imparted the circumstance to the 
Christian sovereigns; a council was called on the matter. 
Spanish pride and etiquette were obliged to bend in 
some degree to the haughty spirit of a woman. It was 
agreed that Boabdil should sally forth on horseback, 
that on approaching the Spanish sovereigns he should 
make a slight movement as if about to draw his foot from 
the stirrup and dismount, but would be prevented from 
doing so by Ferdinand, who should treat him with a re¬ 
spect due to his dignity and elevated birth. The count 
de Tendilla dispatched a messenger with this arrange¬ 
ment ; and the haughty scruples of Ayxa la Horra were 
satisfied.* 

* Salazar de Mendoza. Chron. del Oran. Cardinal , lib. 1, cap. 69, p. 
1. Mondajar, His. MS. as cited by Alcantara, tom. 4, cap. 18. 


CHAPTER XCIX. 


SURRENDER OF GRANADA. 

HE night preceding the surrender was a night 
of doleful lamentings, within the walls of the 
Alhambra; for the household of Boabdil were 
preparing to take a last farewell of that delightful abode. 
All the royal treasures and most precious effects were 
hastily packed upon mules; the beautiful apartments 
were despoiled, with tears and wailings, by their own 
inhabitants. Before the dawn of day, a mournful caval¬ 
cade moved obscurely out of a postern-gate of the Al¬ 
hambra, and departed through one of the most retired 
quarters of the city. It was composed of the family of 
the unfortunate Boabdil, which he sent off thus privately, 
that they might not be exposed to the eyes of scoffers, 
or the exultation of the enemy. The mother of Boabdil, 
the sultana Ayxa la Horra, rode on in silence, with de¬ 
jected yet dignified demeanor; but his wife Morayma, 
and all the females of his household, gave way to loud 
lamentations, as they looked back upon their favorite 
abode, now a mass of gloomy towers behind them. They 
were attended by the ancient domestics of the household, 

645 








646 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


and by a small guard of veteran Moors, loyally attached 
to the fallen monarch, and who would have sold their 
lives dearly in defense of his family. The city was yet 
buried in sleep, as they passed through its silent streets. 
The guards at the gate shed tears, as they opened it for 
their departure. They paused not, but proceeded along 
the banks of the Xenil on the road that leads to the Al- 
puxarras, until they arrived at a hamlet at some distance 
from the city, where they halted, and waited until they 
should be joined by King Boabdil. 

The night which had passed so gloomily in the sumpt¬ 
uous halls of the Alhambra, had been one of joyful antic¬ 
ipation in the Christian camp. In the evening proclama¬ 
tion had been made that Granada was to be surrendered 
on the following day, and the troops were all ordered to 
assemble at an early hour under their several banners. 
The cavaliers, pages, and esquires were all charged to 
array themselves in their richest and most splendid style, 
for the occasion; and even the royal family determined 
to lay by the mourning they had recently assumed for 
the sudden death of the prince of Portugal, the husband 
of the princess Isabella. In a clause of the capitulation 
it had been stipulated that the troops destined to take 
possession, should not traverse the city, but should 
ascend to the Alhambra by a road opened for the pur¬ 
pose outside of the walls. This was to spare the feel¬ 
ings of the afflicted inhabitants, and to prevent any angry 
collision between them and their conquerors. So rig- 


PREPARATIONS FOR THE SURRENDER. 


647 


orous was Ferdinand in enforcing tliis precaution, that 
the soldiers were prohibited under pain of death from 
leaving the ranks to enter into the city. 

The rising sun had scarce slied his rosy beams upon 
the snowy summits of the Sierra Nevada, when three 
signal guns boomed heavily from the lofty fortress of the 
Alhambra. It was the concerted sign that all was ready 
for the surrender. The Christian army forthwith poured 
out of the city, or rather camp of Santa Fe, and advanced 
across the vega. The king and queen, with the prince 
and princess, the dignitaries and ladies of the court, took 
the lead, accompanied by the different orders of monks 
and friars, and surrounded by the royal guards splen¬ 
didly arrayed. The procession moved slowly forward, 
and paused at the village of Armilla, at the distance of 
half a league from the city. 

In the meantime, the grand cardinal of Spain, Don 
Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, escorted by three thousand 
foot and a troop of cavalry, and accompanied by the com¬ 
mander Don Gutierrez de Cardenas, and a number of 
prelates and hidalgos, crossed the Xenil and proceeded in 
the advance, to ascend to the Alhambra and take pos¬ 
session of that royal palace and fortress. The road 
which had been opened for the purpose led by the 
Puerta de los Molinos, or Gate of Mills, up a defile to the 
esplanade on the summit of the Hill of Martyrs. At the 
approach of this detachment, the Moorish king sallied 
forth from a postern gate of the Alhambra, having left 


648 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


Iris vizier Yusef Aben Comixa to deliver up the palace. 
The gate by which he sallied passed through a lofty 
tower of the outer wall, called the Tower of the Seven 
Floors (de los siete suelos). He was accompanied by 
fifty cavaliers, and approached the grand cardinal on foot. 
The latter immediately alighted, and advanced to meet 
him with the utmost respect. They stepped aside a few 
paces, and held a brief conversation in an undertone, 
when Boabdil, raising his voice, exclaimed, “Go, Senor, 
and take possession of those fortresses in the name of 
the powerful sovereigns, to whom God has been pleased 
to deliver them in reward of their great merits, and in 
punishment of the sins of the Moors.” The grand car¬ 
dinal sought to console him in his reverses, and offered 
him the use of his own tent during any time he might 
sojourn in the camp. Boabdil thanked him for the cour¬ 
teous offer, adding some words of melancholy import, and 
then taking leave of him gracefully, passed mournfully 
on to meet the Catholic sovereigns, descending to the 
vega by the same road by which the cardinal had come. 
The latter, with the prelates and cavaliers who attended 
him, entered the Alhambra, the gates of which were 
thrown wide open by the alcayde Aben Comixa. At the 
same time the Moorish guards yielded up their arms, and 
the towers and battlements were taken possession of by 
the Christian troops. 

While these transactions were passing in the Alham¬ 
bra and its vicinity, the sovereigns remained with their 


THE SURRENDER. 


649 


retinue and guards near the village of Armilla, their 
eyes fixed on the towers of the royal fortress, watch¬ 
ing for the appointed signal of possession. The time 
that had elapsed since the departure of the detachment 
seemed to them more than necessary for the purpose, 
and the anxious mind of Ferdinand began to enter¬ 
tain doubts of some commotion in the city. At length 
they saw the silver cross, the great standard of this 
crusade, elevated on the Torre de la Yela, or Great 
Watch-Tower, and sparkling in the sunbeams. This 
was done by Hernando de Talavera, bishop of Avila. 
Beside it was planted the pennon of the glorious apos¬ 
tle St. James, and a great shout of “ Santiago! San¬ 
tiago ! ” rose throughout the army. Lastly was reared 
the royal standard by the king of arms, with the shout 
of “ Castile! Castile! For King Ferdinand and Queen 
Isabella! ” The words were echoed by the whole army, 
with acclamations that resounded across the vega. 
At sight of these signals of possession, the sovereigns 
sank upon their knees, giving thanks to God for this 
great triumph; the whole assembled host followed their 
example, and the choristers of the royal chapel broke 
forth into the solemn anthem of “ Te Deum lauda - 
mus.” 

The king now advanced with a splendid escort of 
cavalry and the sound of trumpets, until he came to a 
small mosque near the banks of the Xenil, and not far 
from the foot of the Hill of Martyrs, which edifice re- 


650 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


mains to the present day consecrated as the hermitage of 
St. Sebastian. Here he beheld the unfortunate king of 
Granada approaching on horseback, at the head of his 
slender retinue. Boabdil as he drew near made a move¬ 
ment to dismount, but, as had previously been concerted, 
Ferdinand prevented him. He then offered to kiss the 
king’s hand, which, according to arrangement, was like¬ 
wise declined, whereupon he leaned forward and kissed 
the king’s right arm; at the same time he delivered 
the keys of the city with an air of mingled melancholy 
and resignation: “ These keys,” said he, “ are the last 
relics of the Arabian empire in Spain : thine, O king, 
are our trophies, our kingdom, and our person. Such 
is the will of God! Receive them with the clemency 
thou hast promised, and which we look for at thy 
hands.” * 

King Ferdinand restrained his exultation into an air 
of serene magnanimity. “ Doubt not our promises,” re¬ 
plied he, “nor that thou shalt regain from our friendship 
the prosperity of which the fortune of war has deprived 
thee.” 

Being informed that Don Inigo Lopez de Mendoza, 
the good count of Tendilla, was to be governor of the 
city, Boabdil drew from his finger a gold ring set with 
a precious stone, and presented it to the count. “ With 
this ring,” said he, “Granada has been governed; take 


*Abarca, Andies de Aragon , Reg 30, cap. 3. 


INTER VIEW OF ISABELLA AND BOABDIL. 651 


it and govern with it, and God make you more fortunate 
than I.” * 

He then proceeded to the village of Armilla, where 
the queen Isabella remained with her escort; and attend¬ 
ants. The queen, like her husband, declined all acts of 
homage, and received him with her accustomed grace 
and benignity. She at the same time delivered to him 
his son, who had been held as a hostage for the fulfill¬ 
ment of the capitulation. Boabdil pressed his child to 
his bosom with tender emotion, and they seemed mutu¬ 
ally endeared to each other by their misfortunes.t 

Having rejoined his family, the unfortunate Boabdil 
continued on towards the Alpuxarras, that he might not 
behold the entrance of the Christians into his capital. 
His devoted band of cavaliers followed him in gloomy 
silence; but heavy sighs burst from their bosoms, as 
shouts of joy and strains of triumphant music were borne 
on the breeze from the victorious army. 

Having rejoined his family, Boabdil set forward with 
a heavy heart for his allotted residence in the Valley of 
Purchena. At two leagues’ distance, the cavalcade, wind¬ 
ing into the skirts of the Alpuxarras, ascended an emi¬ 
nence, commanding the last view of Granada. As they 

* This ring remained in the possession of the descendants of the count 
until the death of the marques Don Inigo, the last male heir, who died 
in Malaga without children, in 1656. The ring was then lost through 
inadvertence and ignorance of its value, Dona Maria, the sister of the 
marques, being absent in Madrid. Alcantara, lib. 4, cap. 18. 
f Zurita, Anales de Aragon, lib. 20, cap. 92. 


652 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


arrived at this spot, the Moors paused involuntarily, to 
take a farewell gaze at their beloved city, which a few 
steps more would shut from their sight forever. Never 
had it appeared so lovely in their eyes. The sunshine, 
so bright in that transparent climate, lit up each tower 
and minaret, and rested gloriously upon the crowning 
battlements of the Alhambra; while the vega spread its 
enameled bosom of verdure below, glistening with the 
silver windings of the Xenil. The Moorish cavaliers 
gazed with a silent agony of tenderness and grief upon 
that delicious abode, the scene of their loves and pleas¬ 
ures. While they yet looked, a light cloud of smoke 
burst forth from the citadel, and presently a peal of ar¬ 
tillery, faintly heard, told that the city was taken pos¬ 
session of, and the throne of the Moslem kings was lost 
forever. The heart of Boabdil, softened by misfortunes 
and overcharged with grief, could no longer contain it¬ 
self: “Allah Achbar! God is great!” said he; but the 
words of resignation died upon his lips, and he burst 
into tears. 

His mother, the intrepid Ayxa, was indignant at his 
weakness: “ You do well,” said she, “ to weep like a 
woman for what you failed to defend like a man ! ” 

The vizier Aben Comixa endeavored to console his 
royal master. “ Consider, Senor,” said he, “ that the 
most signal misfortunes often render men as renowned 
as the most prosperous achievements, provided they sus¬ 
tain them with magnanimity.” 


THE LAST SIGH OF THE MOOR. 


653 


The unhappy monarch, however, was not to be con¬ 
soled ; his tears continued to flow. “ Allah Achbar ! ” 
exclaimed he, “ when did misfortunes ever equal mine ? ** 
From this circumstance, the hill, which is not far from 
Padul, took the name of Feg Allah Achbar, but the point 
of view commanding the last prospect of Granada is 
known among Spaniards by the name of El ultimo susjnro 
del Moroj or, “ The last sigh of the Moor.” 


CHAPTEE C. 


HOW THE CASTILIAN SOVEREIGNS TOOK POSSESSION OF GRANADA. 

ISABELLA having joined the king, tne 
pair, followed by a triumphant host, 
L up the road by the Hill of Martyrs, and 
thence to the main entrance of the Alhambra. The 
grand cardinal awaited them under the lofty arch of the 
great Gate of Justice, accompanied by Don Gutierrez de 
Cardenas and Aben Comixa. Here King Ferdinand gave 
the keys which had been delivered up to him into the 
hands of the queen; they were passed successively into 
the hands of the prince Juan, the grand cardinal, and 
finally into those of the count de Tendilla, in whose 
custody they remained, that brave cavalier having been 
named alcayde of the Alhambra, and captain-general of 
Granada. 

The sovereigns did not remain long in the Alhambra 
on this first visit, but leaving a strong garrison there 
under the count de Tendilla, to maintain tranquillity in 
the palace and the subjacent city, returned to the camp 
at Santa Fe. 

We must not omit to mention a circumstance attend- 



UEEN 

royal 

passe( 


654 





OCCUPATION OF THE CITY. 


655 


ing the surrender of the city, which spoke eloquently to 
the hearts of the victors. As the royal army had ad¬ 
vanced in all the pomp of courtly and chivalrous array, 
a procession of a different kind came forth to meet it. 
This was composed of more than five hundred Chris¬ 
tian captives, many of whom had languished for years 
in Moorish dungeons. Pale and emaciated, they came 
clanking their chains in triumph, and shedding tears of 
joy. They were received with tenderness by the sover¬ 
eigns. The king hailed them as good Spaniards, as men 
loyal and brave, as martyrs to the holy cause; the queen 
distributed liberal relief among them with her own 
hands, and they passed on before the squadrons of the 
army, singing hymns of jubilee.* 

The sovereigns forbore to enter the city until it should 
be fully occupied by their troops, and public tranquillity 
insured. All this was done under the vigilant superin¬ 
tendence of the count de Tendilla, assisted by the mar¬ 
ques of Villena; and the glistening of Christian helms 
and lances along the walls and bulwarks, and the stand¬ 
ards of the faith and of the realm flaunting from the 
towers, told that the subjugation of the city was com¬ 
plete. The proselyte prince, Cid Hiaya, now known by 
the Christian appellation of Don Pedro de Granada Van- 
egas,t was appointed chief alguazil of the city, and had 

* Abarca, lib. sup. Zurita, etc. 

f Cid Hiaya was made cavalier of the order of Santiago. He and his 
son intermarried with the Spanish nobility, and the marqueses of Compo- 


656 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


charge of the Moorish inhabitants; and his son, lately 
the prince Alnayer, now Alonzo de Granada Yanegas, 
was appointed admiral of the fleets. 

It was on the sixth of January, the day of kings and 
festival of the Epiphany, that the sovereigns made their 
triumphal entry with grand military parade. First ad¬ 
vanced, we are told, a splendid escort of cavaliers in 
burnished armor, and superbly mounted. Then followed 
the prince Juan, glittering with jewels and diamonds; on 
each side of him, mounted on mules, rode the grand car¬ 
dinal, clothed in purple, Fray Hernando de Talavera, 
bishop of Aria, and the archbishop elect of Granada. To 
these succeeded the queen and her ladies, and the king, 
managing in galliard style, say the Spanish chronicles, a 
proud and mettlesome steed (un cabaUo arrogante). Then 
followed the army in shining columns, with flaunting 
banners and the inspiring clamor of military music. The 
king and queen (says the worthy Fray Antonio Agapida) 
looked, on this occasion, as more than mortal: the vener¬ 
able ecclesiastics, to whose advice and zeal this glorious 
conquest ought in a great measure to be attributed, 
moved along with hearts swelling with holy exultation, 
but with chastened and downcast looks of edifying hu¬ 
mility ; while the hardy warriors, in tossing plumes and 
shining steel, seemed elevated with a stern joy at finding 

tejar are among their descendants. Their portraits, and the portraits of 
their grandsons, are to be seen in one of the rooms of the Generalife at 
Granada. 


THE ROYAL PROCESSION. 


657 


themselves in possession of this object of so many toils 
and perils. As the streets resounded with the tramp 
of steeds and swelling peals of music, the Moors buried 
themselves in the deepest recesses of their dwellings. 
There they bewailed in secret the fallen glory of their 
race, but suppressed their groans, lest they should be 
heard by their enemies, and increase their triumph. 

The royal procession advanced to the principal mosque, 
which had been consecrated as a cathedral. Here the 
sovereigns offered up prayers and thanksgivings, and the 
choir of the royal chapel chanted a triumphant anthem, 
in which they were joined by all the courtiers and cava¬ 
liers. Nothing (says Fray Antonio Agapida) could ex¬ 
ceed the thankfulness to God of the pious King Ferdi¬ 
nand, for having enabled him to eradicate from Spain the 
empire and name of that accursed heathen race, and for 
the elevation of the cross in that city wherein the im¬ 
pious doctrines of Mahomet had so long been cherished. 
In the fervor of his spirit, he supplicated from Heaven a 
continuance of its grace, and that this glorious triumph 
might be perpetuated.* The prayer of the pious mon¬ 
arch was responded by the people, and even his enemies 
were for once convinced of his sincerity. 

When the religious ceremonies were concluded, the 
court ascended to the stately palace of the Alhambra, 
and entered by the great Gate of Justice. The halls 

* The words of Fray Antonio Agapida are little more than an echo of 
those of the worthy Jesuit father Mariana (lib. 25, cap. 18). 


658 


CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 


lately occupied by turbaned infidels now rustled with 
stately dames and Christian courtiers, who wandered 
with eager curiosity over this far-famed palace, admiring 
its verdant courts and gushing fountains, its halls de¬ 
corated with elegant arabesques and storied with in¬ 
scriptions, and the splendor of its gilded and brilliantly 
painted ceilings. 

It had been a last request of the unfortunate Boabdil, 
and one which showed how deeply he felt the transition 
of his fate, that no person might be permitted to enter or 
depart by the gate of the Alhambra, through which he 
had sallied forth to surrender his capital. His request 
was granted; the portal was closed up, and remains so to 
the present day—a mute memorial of that event.* 

The Spanish sovereigns fixed their throne in the pres- 

* Garibay, Compend. Hist. lib. 40, cap. 42. The existence of this gate¬ 
way, and the story connected with it, are perhaps known to few; but were 
identified, in the researches made to verify this history. The gateway is 
at the bottom of a tower, at some distance from the main body of the Al¬ 
hambra. The tower has been rent and ruined by gunpowder, at the time 
when the fortress was evacuated by the French. Great masses lie around 
half covered by vines and fig-trees. A poor man, by the name of Matteo 
Ximenes, who lives in one of the halls among the ruins of the Alhambra, 
where his family has resided for many generations, pointed out to the 
author the gateway, still closed up with stones. He remembered to have 
heard his father and grandfather say, that it had always been stopped up, 
and that out of it King Boabdil had gone when he surrendered Granada. 
The route of the unfortunate king may be traced thence across the gar¬ 
den of the convent of Los Martyros, and down a ravine beyond, through 
a street of Gypsy caves and hovels, by the gate of Los Molinos, and so on 
to the Hermitage of St. Sebastian. None but an antiquarian, however, 
will be able to trace it, unless aided by the humble historian of the place, 
Matteo Ximenes. 




END OF THE CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 659 


ence-chamber of the palace, so long the seat of Moorish 
royalty. Hither the principal inhabitants of Granada 
repaired, to pay them homage and kiss their hands in 
token of vassalage; and their example was followed by 
deputies from all the towns and fortresses of the Alpux- 
arras, which had not hitherto submitted. 

Thus terminated the war of Granada, after ten years 
of incessant fighting; equaling (says Fray Antonio Aga- 
pida) the far-famed siege of Troy in duration, and end¬ 
ing, like that, in the capture of the city. Thus ended 
also the dominion of the Moors in Spain, having en¬ 
dured seven hundred and seventy-eight years, from the 
memorable defeat of Roderick, the last of the Goths, on 
the banks of the Guadalete. The authentic Agapida is 
uncommonly particular in fixing the epoch of this 
event. This great triumph of our holy Catholic faith, 
according to his computation, took place in the begin¬ 
ning of January, in the yeai of our Lord 1492, being 
3,655 years from the population of Spain by the patrb 
arch Tubal; 3,797 from the general deluge ; 5,453 from 
the creation of the world, according to Hebrew calcula¬ 
tion ; and in the month Rabic, in the eight hundred and 
ninety-seventh year of the Hegira, or flight of Mahomet ,* 
whom may God confound! saith the pious Agapida! 





Appendix. 


The Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada is finished, but the reader 
may be desirous of knowing the subsequent fortunes of some of the prin¬ 
cipal personages. 

The unfortunate Boabdil retired with his mother, his wife, his son, his 
sister, his vizier, and bosom counselor Aben Comixa, and many other 
relatives and friends, to the Valley of Purchena, where a small, but 
fertile territory had been allotted him, comprising several towns of the 
Alpuxarras, with all their rights and revenues. Here, surrounded 
by obedient vassals, devoted friends, and a loving family, and possessed 
of wealth sufficient to enable him to indulge in his habitual lux¬ 
ury and magnificence, he for a time led a tranquil life, and may have 
looked back upon his regal career as a troubled dream, from which he 
had happily awaked. Still he appears to have pleased himself with a 
shadow of royalty, making occasionally, progresses about his little do¬ 
mains, visiting the different towns, receiving the homage of the inhabi¬ 
tants, and bestowing largesses with a princely hand. His great delight, 
however, was in sylvan sports and exercises, with horses, hawks, and 
hounds, being passionately fond of hunting and falconry, so as to pass 
weeks together in sporting campaigns among the mountains. The jeal¬ 
ous suspicions of Ferdinand followed him into his retreat. No exer¬ 
tions were spared by the politically pious monarch, to induce him to em¬ 
brace the Christian religion, as a means of severing him in feelings and 

661 



662 


APPENDIX. 


sympathies from his late subjects ; but he remained true to the faith of 
his fathers ; and it must have added not a little to his humiliation to live 
a vassal under Christian sovereigns. 

His obstinacy, in this respect, aggravated the distrust of Ferdinand, 
who, looking back upon the past inconstancy of the Moors, could not 
feel perfectly secure in his newly conquered territories, while there was 
one within their bounds who might revive pretensions to the throne, and 
rear the standard of an opposite faith in their behalf. He caused, there¬ 
fore, a vigilant watch to be kept upon the dethroned monarch in his 
retirement, and beset him with spies, who were to report all his words 
and actions. The reader will probably be surprised to learn, that the 
foremost of these spies was Aben Comixa! Ever since the capture and 
release of the niece of the vizier by the count de Tendilla, Aben Comixa 
had kept up a friendly correspondence with that nobleman, and through 
this channel had gradually been brought over to the views of Ferdinand. 
Documents which have gradually come to light, leave little doubt that 
the vizier had been corrupted by the bribes and promises of the Spanish 
king, and had greatly promoted his views in the capitulation of Gra¬ 
nada. It is certain that he subsequently received great estates from 
the Christian sovereigns. While residing in confidential friendship with 
Boabdil in his retirement, Aben Comixa communicated secretly with 
Hernando de Zafra, the secretary of Ferdinand, who resided at Granada, 
giving him information of all Boabdil’s movements ; which the sec¬ 
retary reported by letter to the king. Some of the letters of the 
secretary still exist in the archives of Samancas, and have been recently 
published in the collection of unedited documents.* 

The jealous doubts of Ferdinand were quickened by the letters of his 
spies. He saw in the hunting campaigns and royal progresses of the 
ex-king a mode of keeping up a military spirit, and a concerted intel¬ 
ligence among the Moors of the Alpuxarras, that might prepare them 

* El rey Muley Babdali (Boabdil) y sus criados andan continuamente a caza con gla- 
gos y azores, y alia esta agora en al campo de Dalias y en Verja, aunque su casa tiene 
en Andarax, y dican que eetara alia por todo este men.—Carta Secreta de Hernando de 
Zafra. Decembre, 1492. 


APPENDIX. 


663 


for future rebellion. By degrees, the very residence of Boabdil within 
the kingdom became incompatible with Ferdinand’s ideas of security. 
He gave his agents, therefore, secret instructions to work upon the mind 
of the deposed monarch, and induce him, like El Zagal, to relinquish 
his Spanish estates for valuable considerations, and retire to Africa. 
Boabdil, however, was not to be persuaded; to the urgent suggestions of 
these perfidious counselors, he replied, that he had given up a kingdom 
to live in peace ; and had no idea of going to a foreign land to en¬ 
counter new troubles, and to be under the control of al-arabes.* 

Ferdinand persisted in his endeavors, and found means more effectual 
of operating on the mind of Boabdil and gradually disposing him to 
enter into negotiations. It would appear that Aben Comixa was secretly 
active in this matter, in the interests of the Spanish monarch, and was 
with him at Barcelona, as the vizier and agent of Boabdil. The latter, 
however, finding that his residence in the Alpuxarras was a cause of 
suspicion and uneasiness to Ferdinand, determined to go himself to Bar¬ 
celona, have a conference with the sovereigns, and conduct all his nego¬ 
tiations with them in person. Zafra, the secretary of Ferdinand, who 
was ever on the alert, wrote a letter from Granada, apprising the king 
of Boabdil’s intention, and that he was making preparations for the 
journey. He received a letter in reply, charging him by subtle man¬ 
agement to prevent, or at least delay, the coming of Boabdil to court, f 
The crafty monarch trusted to effect through Aben Comixa as vizier and 
agent of Boabdil, an arrangement which it might be impossible to obtain 
from Boabdil himself. The politic plan was carried into effect. Boabdil 
was detained at Andarax by the management of Zafra. In the mean¬ 
time, a scandalous bargain was made on the 17th March, 1493, be¬ 
tween Ferdinand and Aben Comixa, in which the latter, as vizier and 
agent of Boabdil, though without any license or authority from him, 
made a sale of his territory, and the patrimonial property of the prin¬ 
cesses, for eighty thousand ducats of gold, and engaged that he should 

* Letter of Hernando de Zafra to the sovereigns, Dec. 9,1493. 

t Letter of the sovereigns to Hernando de Zafra, from Barcelona, Feb. 1493- 


664 


APPENDIX. 


depart for Africa, taking care, at the same time, to make conditions 
highly advantageous for himself.* 

This bargain being hastily concluded, Yusef Aben Comixa loaded the 
treasure upon mules, and departed for the Alpuxarras. Here, spread¬ 
ing the money before Boabdil: “Senior,” said he, ‘‘I have observed that 
as long as you live here, you are exposed to constant peril. The Moors 
are rash and irritable; they may make some sudden insurrection, elevate 
your standard as a pretext, and thus overwhelm you and your friends 
with utter ruin. I have observed, also, that you pine away with grief, 
being continually reminded in this country that you were once its sov¬ 
ereign, but never more must hope to reign. I have put an end to these 
evils. Your territory is sold—behold the price of it. With this gold you 
may buy far greater possessions in Africa, where you may live in honor 
and security.” 

When Boabdil heard these words, he burst into a sudden transport of 
rage, and drawing his scimetar, would have sacrificed the officious Yusef 
on the spot, had not the attendants interfered, and hurried the vizier 
from his presence, f 

The rage of Boabdil gradually subsided; he saw that he had been 
duped and betrayed; but he knew the spirit of Ferdinand too well to 
hope that he would retract the bargain, however illegitimately effected. 
He contented himself, therefore, with obtaining certain advantageous 
modifications, and then prepared to bid a final adieu to his late kingdom 
and his native land. 

It took some months to make the necessary arrangements; or rather'his 
departure was delayed by a severe domestic affliction. Morayma, his 
gentle and affectionate wife, worn out by agitations and alarms, was 
gradually sinking into the grave, a prey to devouring melancholy. Her 
death took place toward the end of August. Hernando de Zafra ap¬ 
prised king Ferdinand of the event as one propitious to his purposes: 
removing an obstacle to the embarkation, which was now fixed for the 


* Alcantara, Hist. Oranad. iv. c. 18. 
t Marmol. Rebel, lib. 1, c. 22. 


APPENDIX. 


665 


month of September. Zafra was instructed to accompany the exiles until 
he saw them landed on the African coast. 

The embarkation, however, did not take place until some time in the 
month of October. A caracca had been prepared at the port of Adra for 
Boabdil and his immediate family and friends. Another caracca and 
two galliots received a number of faithful adherents, amounting, it is 
said, to 1,130, who followed their prince into exile. 

A crowd of his former subjects witnessed his embarkation. As the sails 
were unfurled and swelled to the breeze, and the vessel bearing Boabdil 
parted from the land, the spectators would fain have given him a farewell 
cheering ; but the humbled state of their once proud sovereign forced 
itself upon their minds, and the ominous surname of his youth rose invol¬ 
untarily to their tongues : “Farewell, Boabdil! Allah preserve thee, El 
Zogoyli ! ” burst spontaneously from the lips. The unlucky appellation 
sank into the heart of the expatriated monarch, and tears dimmed his 
eyes as the snowy summits of the mountains of Granada gradually faded 
from his view. 

He was received with welcome at the court of his relative Muley Ahmed, 
caliph of Fez, the same who had treated El Zagal with such cruelty in his 
exile. For thirty-four years he resided in this court, treated with great 
consideration, and built a palace or alcazar, at Fez, in which, it is said, 
he endeavored to emulate the beauties and delights of the Alhambra. 

The last we find recorded of him is in the year 1536, when he followed 
the caliph to the field to repel the invasion of two brothers of the famous 
line of the Xerifes, who, at the head of Berber troops, had taken the 
city of Morocco and threatened Fez. The armies came in sight of each 
other on the banks of the Gaudal Hawit, or river of slaves, at the ford of 
Balcuba. The river was deep, the banks were high and broken; and the 
ford could only be passed in single file; for three days the armies remained 
firing at each other across the stream, neither venturing to attempt the 
dangerous ford. At length the caliph divided his army into three battal¬ 
ions, the command of the first he gave to his brother-in-law, and to Ali 
Atar, son of the old alcayde of Loxa; another division he commanded 


666 


APPENDIX. 


himself, and the third, composed of his best marksmen, he put under the 
command of his son the prince of Fez, and Boabdil, now a gray-haired 
veteran. The last mentioned column took the lead, dashed boldly across 
the ford, scrambled up the opposite bank, and attempted to keep the 
enemy employed until the other battalions should have time to cross. 
The rebel army, however, attacked them with such fury, that the son of 
the king of Fez and several of the bravest alcaydes were slain upon the 
spot; multitudes were driven back into the river, which was already 
crowded with passing troops. A dreadful confusion took place ; the 
horse trampled upon the foot; the enemy pressed on them with fearful 
slaughter; those who escaped the sword perished by the stream; the river 
was choked by the dead bodies of men and horses, and by the scattered 
baggage of the army. In this scene of horrible carnage fell Boabdil, truly 
called El Zogoybi, or the Unlucky—an instance, says the ancient chroni¬ 
cler, of the scornful caprice of fortune, dying in defense of the kingdom 
of another, after wanting spirit to die in defense of his own.* 

The aspersion of the chronicler is more caustic than correct. Boab¬ 
dil never showed a want of courage in the defense of Granada ; but he 
wanted firmness and decision; he was beset from the first by perplexi¬ 
ties, and ultimately, by the artifices of Ferdinand and the treachery of 
those in whom he most confided, f 

ZORAYA, THE STAR OF THE MORNING. 

Notwithstanding the deadly rivalryship of this youthful sultana, with 
Ayxa la Horra, the virtuous mother of Boabdil, and the disasters to 
which her ambitious intrigues gave rise, the placable spirit of Boabdil 
bore her no lasting enmity. After the death of his father, he treated her 
with respect and kindness, and evinced a brotherly feeling towards her 
sons Cad and Nazar. In the capitulations for the surrender of Granada 

* Marmol. Descrip, de Africa , pt. 1, lib. 2, c. 40. Idem., Hist. Beb. de los Moros, lib. l t 

c. 21. 

t In revising this account of the ultimate fortunes of Boabdil, the author has availed 
himself of facts recently brought out in Alcantara’s history of Granada ; which throw 
(strong lights on certain parts of the subject hitherto covered with obscurity. 


APPENDIX. 


667 


he took care of her interests, and the possessions which he obtained for 
her were in his neighborhood, in the valleys of the Alpuxarras. Zoraya, 
however, under the influence of Queen Isabella, returned to the Christian 
faith, the religion of her infancy, and resumed her Spanish name of Isa¬ 
bella. Her two sons Cad and Nazar were baptized under the names of 
Don Fernando and Don Juan de Granada, and were permitted to take the 
titles of Infantas or princes. They intermarried with noble Spanish 
families, and the dukes of Granada, resident in Valladolid, are descend¬ 
ants of Don Juan (once Nazar), and preserve to the present day the 
blazon of their royal ancestor Muley Abul Hassan, and his motto, Le 
Galib ile Ala, God alone is conqueror. 

FATE OF ABEN COMIXA. 

An ancient chronicle which has long remained in manuscript, but has 
been published of late years in the collection of Spanish historical docu¬ 
ments,* informs us of the subsequent fortunes of the perfidious Aben 
Comixa. Discarded and despised by Boabdil for his treachery, he re¬ 
paired to the Spanish court, and obtained favor in the eyes of the devout 
queen Isabella by embracing the Christian religion, being baptized under 
her auspices, with the name of Don Juan de Granada. He even carried 
his zeal for his newly adopted creed so far as to become a Franciscan friar. 
By degrees his affected piety grew cool, and the friar’s garb became irk¬ 
some. Taking occasion of the sailing of some Venetian galleys from Al- 
meria, he threw off his religious habit, embarked on board of one of them 
and crossed to Africa, where he landed in the dress of a Spanish cavalier. 

In a private interview with Abderraman, the Moorish king of Bujia, he 
related his whole history, and declared that he had always been and still 
was at heart a true Mahometan. Such skill had he in inspiring confi¬ 
dence that the Moorish king took him into favor and appointed him gov¬ 
ernor of Algiers. While enjoying his new dignity, a Spanish squadron of 
four galleys under the celebrated count Pedro de Navarro, anchored in 
the harbor, in 1509. Aben Comixa paid the squadron a visit of ceremony 


* Padilla, Cronica de Felipe el Hermosa, cap. 18 y 19, as cited by Alcantara. 


668 


APPENDIX. 


in his capacity of governor ; gave the count repeated fetes, and in secret 
conversations with him laid open all the affairs of the king of Bujia, and 
offered if the count should return with sufficient force, to deliver the city 
into his hands and aid him in conquering the whole territory. The count 
hastened back to Spain and made known the proposed treachery to the 
Cardinal Ximenes, then prime minister of Spain. In the following 
month of January he was sent with thirty vessels and four thousand sol¬ 
diers to achieve the enterprise. The expedition of Navarro was success¬ 
ful. He made himself master of Bujia, and seized in triumph on the 
royal palace, but he found there the base Aben Comixa weltering in his 
blood and expiring under numerous wounds. His treachery had been 
discovered, and the vengeance of the king of Bujia had closed his per¬ 
fidious career. 

DEATH OF THE MARQUES OF CADIZ. 

The renowned Roderigo Ponce de Leon, Marques, Duke of Cadiz, was 
anquestionably the most distinguished among the cavaliers of Spain, for 
his zeal, enterprise, and heroism, in the great crusade of Granada. He 
began the war by the capture of Alhama: he was engaged in almost every 
inroad and siege of importance, during its continuance; and was present 
at the surrender of the capital, the closing scene of the conquest. The 
renown thus acquired was sealed by his death, which happened in the 
forty-eighth year of his age, almost immediately at the close of his tri¬ 
umphs, and before a leaf of his laurels had time to wither. He died at 
his palace in the city of Seville, on the 27th day of August, 1492, but a 
few months after the surrender of Granada, and of an illness caused by 
exposures and fatigues undergone in this memorable war. That honest 
chronicler, Andres Bernaldes, the curate of los Palacios, who was a con¬ 
temporary of the marques, draws his portrait from actual knowledge and 
observation. He was universally cited (says he) as the most perfect 
model of chivalrous virtue of the age. He was temperate, chaste, and 
rigidly devout; a benignant commander, a valiant defender of his vas¬ 
sals, a great lover of justice, and an enemy to all flatterers, liars, robbers, 
traitors, and poltroons. 


APPENDIX. 


669 


His ambition was of a lofty kind—he sought to distinguish himseK 
and his family, by heroic and resounding deeds ; and to increase the 
patrimony of his ancestors, by the acquisition of castles, domains, vas¬ 
sals, and other princely possessions. His recreations were all of a warlike 
nature; he delighted in geometry as applied to fortifications, and spent 
much time and treasure in erecting and repairing fortresses. He rel¬ 
ished music, but of a military kind—the sound of clarions and sackbuts, 
of drums and trumpets. Like a true cavalier, he was a protector of the 
sex on all occasions, and an injured woman never applied to him in vain 
for redress. His prowess was so well known, and his courtesy to the fair, 
that the ladies of the court, when they accompanied the queen to the 
wars, rejoiced to find themselves under his protection; for wherever his 
banner was displayed, the Moors dreaded to adventure. He was a faith¬ 
ful and devoted friend, but a formidable enemy; for he was slow to for¬ 
give, and his vengeance was persevering and terrible. 

The death of this good and well-beloved cavalier spread grief and la¬ 
mentation throughout all ranks. His relations, dependants, and com¬ 
panions in arms, put on mourning for his loss ; and so numerous were 
they, that half of Seville was clad in black. None, however, deplored 
his death more deeply and sincerely than his friend and chosen com¬ 
panion, Don Alonzo de Aguilar. 

The funeral ceremonies were of the most solemn and sumptuous kind. 
The body of the marques was arrayed in a costly shirt, a doublet of bro¬ 
cade, a sayo or long robe of black velvet, a marlota or Moorish tunic of 
brocade reaching to the feet, and scarlet stockings. His sword, superbly 
gilt, was girded to his side, as he used to wear it when in the field. Thus 
magnificently attired, the body was inclosed in a coffin, which was 
covered with black velvet, and decorated with a cross of white dam¬ 
ask. It was then placed on a sumptuous bier, in the centre of the 
great hall of the palace. Here the duchess made great lamentation over 
the body of her lord, in which she was joined by her train of damsels 
and attendants, as well as by the pages and esquires, and innumerable 
vassals. 


670 


APPENDIX ; 


In the close of the evening, just before the Ave Maria, the funerai. 
train issued from the palace. Ten banners were borne around the bier, 
the particular trophies of the marques, won from the Moors by his valor 
in individual enterprises, before king Ferdinand had commenced the 
war of Granada. The procession was swelled by an immense train of 
bishops, priests, and friars of different orders, together with the civil 
and military authorities, and all the chivalry of Seville, headed by the 
count of Cifuentes, at that time intendente or commander of the city. 
It moved slowly and solemnly through the streets, stopping occa¬ 
sionally, and chanting litanies and responses. Two hundred and forty 
waxen tapers shed a light like the day about the bier. The balconies 
and windows were crowded with ladies, who shed tears as the funeral 
train passed by ; while the women of the lower classes were loud in their 
lamentations, as if bewailing the loss of a father or a brother. On ap¬ 
proaching the convent of St. Augustine, the monks came forth with the 
cross and tapers, and eight censers, and conducted the body into the 
church, where it lay in state until all the vigils were performed, by the 
different orders; after which it was deposited in the family tomb of the 
Ponces in the same church, and the ten banners were suspended over the 
sepulchre.* 

The tomb of the valiant Roderigo Ponce de Leon, with his banners 
mouldering above it, remained for ages an object of veneration with all 
who had read or heard of his virtues and achievements. In the year 
1810, however, the chapel was sacked by the French, its altars were 
overturned, and the sepulchres of the family of the Ponces shattered to 
pieces. The present duchess of Benevente, the worthy descendant of this 
illustrious and heroic line, has since piously collected the ashes of her 
ancestors, restored the altar, and repaired the chapel. The sepulchres, 
however, were utterly destroyed ; an inscription in gold letters, on the 
wall of the chapel, to the right of the altar, is all that denotes the place 
of sepulture of the brave Ponce de Leon. 


* Cura de los Palacios, c. 104. 


APPENDIX. 


671 


THE LEGEND OF THE DEATH OF DON ALONZO DE AGUILAR. 

To such as feel an interest in the fortune of the valiant Don Alonzo de 
Aguilar, the chosen friend and companion in arms of Ponce de Leon, 
marques of Cadiz, and one of the most distinguished heroes of the war 
of Granada, a few particulars of his remarkable fate will not be unac¬ 
ceptable. 

For several years after the conquest of Granada, the country remained 
feverish and unquiet. The zealous efforts of the Catholic clergy to effect 
the conversion of the infidels, and the coercion used for that purpose by 
government, exasperated the stubborn Moors of the mountains. Several 
missionaries were maltreated; and in the town of Dayrin, two of them 
were seized, and exhorted, with many menaces, to embrace the Moslem 
faith; on their resolutely refusing, they were killed with staves and 
stones, by the Moorish women and children, and their bodies burnt to 
ashes.* 

Upon this event a body of Christian cavaliers assembled in Andalusia 
to the number of eight hundred, and, without waiting for orders from the 
king, revenged the death of these martyrs, by plundering and laying 
waste the Moorish towns and villages. The Moors fled to the mountains, 
and their cause was espoused by many of their nation, who inhabited 
those rugged regions. The storm of rebellion began to gather, and mut¬ 
ter its thunders in the Alpuxarras. They were echoed from the Serrania 
of Honda, ever ready for rebellion; but the strongest hold of the insur¬ 
gents was in the Sierra Vermeja, or chain of Ked Mountains, which lie 
near the sea, the savage rocks and precipices of which may be seen from 
Gibraltar. 

When king Ferdinand heard of these tumults, he issued a proclamation 
ordering all the Moors of the insurgent regions to leave them within ten 
days, and repair to Castile; giving secret instructions, however, that those 
who should voluntarily embrace the Christian faith might be permitted 


* Cura de los Palacios , c. 165. 


672 


APPENDIX. 


to remain. At the same time, he ordered Don Alonzo de Aguilar, and 
the counts of Urena and Cifuentes, to march against the rebels. 

Don Alonzo de Aguilar was at Cordova when he received the com¬ 
mands of the king. “ What force is allotted us for this expedition?” said 
he. On being told, he perceived that the number of troops was far from 
adequate. “When a man is dead,” said he, “we send four men into his 
house to bring forth the body. We are now sent to chastise these Moors, 
who are alive, vigorous, in open rebellion, and ensconced in their castles; 
yet they do not give us man to man.” These words of the brave Alonzo 
de Aguilar were afterwards frequently repeated; but though he saw the 
desperate nature of the enterprise, he did not hesitate to undertake it. 

Don Alonzo was at that time in the fifty-first year of his age: a 
warrior, in whom the fire of youth was yet unquenched, though tempered 
by experience. The greater part of his life had been passed in camp and 
field, until danger was as his habitual element. His muscular frame had 
acquired the firmness of iron, without the rigidity of age. His armor and 
weapons seemed to have become a part of his nature, and he sat like a 
man of steel on his powerful war-horse. 

He took with him, on this expedition, his son Don Pedro de Cordova, a 
youth of bold and generous spirit, in the freshness of his days, and armed 
and arrayed with the bravery of a young Spanish cavalier. When the 
populace of Cordova beheld the veteran father, the warrior of a thousand 
battles, leading forth his son to the field, they bethought themselves of 
the family appellation: “Behold,” cried they, “the eagle teaching his 
young to fly! Long live the valiant line of Aguilar! ” * 

The prowess of Don Alonzo, and of his companions in arms, was 
renowned throughout the Moorish towns. At their approach, therefore, 
numbers of the Moors submitted, and hastened to Ronda to embrace 
Christianity. Among the mountaineers, however, were many of the 
Gandules, a tribe from Africa, too proud of spirit to bend their necks to 
the yoke. At their head was a Moor named El Feri of Ben Estepar, 
renowned for strength and courage. At his instigation, his follower* 


* Aguilar—th* Spanish for eagle. 


APPENDIX. 


673 


gathered together their families and most precious effects, placed them on 
mules, and driving before them their flocks and herds, abandoned their 
valleys, and retired up the craggy passes of the Sierra Vermeja. On the 
summit was a fertile plain, surrounded by rocks and precipices, which 
formed a natural fortress. Here El Feri placed all the women and chil¬ 
dren, and all the property. By his orders, his followers piled great 
stones on the rocks and cliffs which commanded the defiles and the steep 
sides of the mountain, and prepared to defend every pass that led to his 
place of refuge. 

The Christian commanders arrived, and pitched their camp before the 
town of Monarda, a strong place, curiously fortified, and situated at the 
foot of the highest part of the Sierra Vermeja. Here they remained for 
several days, unable to compel a surrender. They were separated from 
the skirt of the mountain by a deep barranca or ravine, at the bottom of 
which flowed a small stream. The Moors, commanded by El Feri, drew 
down from their mountain height, and remained on the opposite side of 
the brook, to defend a pass which led up to their stronghold. 

One afternoon, a number of Christian soldiers, in mere bravado, seized 
a banner, crossed the brook, and, scrambling up the opposite bank, at¬ 
tacked the Moors. They were followed by numbers of their companions, 
some in aid, some in emulation, but most in hope of booty. A sharp 
action ensued on the mountain side. The Moors were greatly superior 
in number, and had the vantage-ground. When the counts of Urena 
and Cifuentes beheld this skirmish, they asked Don Alonzo de Aguilar 
his opinion : ‘‘My opinion,” said he, “was given at Cordova, and re¬ 
mains the same : this is a desperate enterprise : however, the Moors are 
at hand, and if they suspect weakness in us, it will increase their courage 
and our peril. Forward then to the attack, and I trust in God we shall 
gain a victory.” So saying, he led his troops into the battle.* 

On the skirts of the mountain were several level places, like terraces ; 
here the Christians pressed valiantly upon the Moors, and had the ad¬ 
vantage ; but the latter retreated to the steep and craggy heights, whence 


* Bleda, lib. 5, c. 26. 


674 


APPENDIX. 


they hurled darts and rocks upon their assailants. They defended their 
passes and defiles with valor, but were driven from height to height, 
until they reached the plain on the summit of the mountain, where their 
wives and children were sheltered. Here they would have made a stand : 
but Alonzo de Aguilar, with his son Don Pedro, charged upon them at 
the head of three hundred men, and put them to flight with great 
carnage. While they were pursuing the flying enemy, the rest of the 
army, thinking the victory achieved, dispersed themselves over the little 
plain in search of plunder. They pursued the shrieking females, tearing 
off their necklaces, bracelets, and anklets of gold ; and they found so 
much treasure of various kinds collected in this spot, that they threw by 
their armor and weapons, to load themselves with booty. 

Evening was closing. The Christians, intent upon spoil, had ceased to 
pursue the Moors, and the latter were arrested in their flight by the cries 
of their wives and children. Their leader, El Feri, threw himself before 
them: “Friends, soldiers,” cried he, “whither do you fly? Whither 
can you seek refuge, where the enemy cannot follow you ? Your wives, 
your children, are behind you—turn and defend them ; you have no 
chance for safety, but from the weapons in your hands.” 

The Moors turned at his words. They beheld the Christians scattered 
about the plain, many of them without armor, and all encumbered with 
spoil. “ Now is the time ! ” shouted El Feri; “ charge upon them while 
laden with your plunder. I will open a path for you ! ” He rushed to 
the attack, followed by his Moors, with shouts and cries that echoed 
through the mountains. The scattered Christians were seized with 
panic, and throwing down their booty, began to fly in all directions. 
Don Alonzo de Aguilar advanced his banner, and endeavored to rally 
them. Finding his horse of no avail in these rocky heights, he dis¬ 
mounted, and caused his men to do the same ; he had a small band of 
tried followers, with which he opposed a bold front to the Moors, calling 
on the scattered troops to rally in the rear. 

Night had completely closed. It prevented the Moors from seeing the 
smallness of the force with which they were contending ; and Don 


APPENDIX. 


675 


Alonzo and his cavaliers dealt their blows so vigorously, that, aided by 
the darkness, they seemed multiplied to ten times their number. Unfor¬ 
tunately, a small cask of gunpowder blew up, near to the scene of action. 
It shed a momentary but brilliant light over all the plain, and on every 
rock and cliff. The Moors beheld, with surprise, that they were opposed 
by a mere handful of men, and that the greater part of the Christians 
were flying from the field. They put up loud shouts of triumph. While 
some continued the conflict with redoubled ardor, others pursued the 
fugitives, hurling after them stones and darts, and discharging showers 
of arrows. Many of the Christians, in their terror and their ignorance of 
the mountains, rushed headlong from the brinks of precipices, and were 
dashed in pieces. 

Don Alonzo still maintained his ground; but, while some of the Moors 
assailed him in front, others galled him with all kinds of missiles from 
the impending cliffs. Some of the cavaliers, seeing the hopeless nature 
of the conflict, proposed to abandon the height and retreat down the 
mountain : “No,” said Don Alonzo, proudly, “never did the banner of 
the house of Aguilar retreat one foot in the field of battle.” He had 
scarcely uttered these words, when his son Pedro was stretched at his 
feet. A stone hurled from a cliff had struck out two of his teeth, and 
a lance passed quivering through his thigh. The youth attempted to 
rise, and, with one knee on the ground, to fight by the side of his 
father. Don Alonzo, finding him wounded, urged him to quit the field. 
“Fly, my son !” said he; “let us not put everything at venture upon 
one hazard. Conduct thyself as a good Christian, and live to comfort 
and honor thy mother.” 

Don Pedro still refused to leave his side. Whereupon Don Alonzo 
ordered several of his followers to bear him off by force. His friend Don 
Francisco Alvarez of Cordova, taking him in his arms, conveyed him to 
the quarters of the count of Urena, who had halted on the height, at 
some distance from the scene of battle, for the purpose of rallying and 
succoring the fugitives. Almost at the same moment, the count beheld 
his own son, Don Pedro Giron, brought in grievously wounded. 


676 


APPENDIX. 


In the meantime, Don Alonzo, with two hundred cavaliers, maintained 
the unequal contest. Surrounded by foes, they fell, one after another, 
like so many stags encircled by the hunters. Don Alonzo was the last 
survivor, without horse, and almost without armor—his corselet unlaced, 
and his bosom gashed with wounds. Still he kept a brave front to the 
enemy, and, retiring between two rocks, defended himself with such 
valor, that the slain lay in a heap before him. 

He was assailed in this retreat, by a Moor of surpassing strength and 
fierceness. The contest was for some time doubtful; but Don Alonzo 
received a wound in the head, and another in the breast, which made 
him stagger. Closing and grappling with his foe, they had a desperate 
struggle, until the Christian cavalier, exhausted by his wounds, fell upon 
his back. He still retained his grasp upon his enemy: “Think not,” 
cried he, “ thou hast an easy prize ; know that I am Don Alonzo, he of 
Aguilar! ” “If thou art Don Alonzo,” replied the Moor, “know that 1 
am El Feri of Ben Estepar.” They continued their deadly struggle, and 
both drew their daggers; but Don Alonzo was exhausted by seven ghastly 
wounds ; while he was yet struggling, his heroic soul departed from his 
body, and he expired in the grasp of the Moor. 

Thus fell Alonzo de Aguilar, the mirror of Andalusian chivalry—one 
of the most powerful grandees of Spain, for person, blood, estate, and 
office. For forty years he had made successful war upon the Moors—in 
childhood by his household and retainers, in manhood by the prowess of 
his arm, and in the wisdom and valor of his spirit. His pennon had 
always been foremost in danger; he had been general of armies, viceroy 
of Andalusia, and the author of glorious enterprises, in which kings were 
vanquished, and mighty alcaydes and warriors laid low. He had slain 
many Moslem chiefs with his own arm, and among others the renowned 
Ali Atar of Loxa, fighting foot to foot, on the banks of the Xenil. His 
judgment, discretion, magnanimity, and justice, vied with his prowess. 
He was the fifth lord of his warlike house, that fell in battle with the 
Moors. 

“His soul,” observes the worthy padre Abarca, “it is believed, as- 


APPENDIX. 


677 


cended to heaven, to receive the reward of so Christian a captain ; for 
that very day, he had armed himself with the sacraments of confession 
and communion.”* 

The Moors, elated with their success, pursued the fugitive Christians 
down the defiles and sides of the mountains. It was with the utmost dif¬ 
ficulty that the count de Urena could bring off a remnant of his forces 
from that disastrous height. Fortunately, on the lower slope of the moun¬ 
tain, they found the rear-guard of the army, led by the count de Cifu- 
entes, who had crossed the brook and the ravine to come to their assist¬ 
ance. As the fugitives came flying in headlong terror down the moun¬ 
tain, it was with difficulty the count kept his own troops from giving way 
in panic, and retreating in confusion across the brook. He succeeded, 
however, in maintaining order, in rallying the fugitives, and checking 
the fury of the Moors : then, taking his station on a rocky eminence, he 
maintained his post until morning; sometimes sustaining violent attacks, 
at other times rushing forth and making assaults upon the enemy. 
When morning dawned, the Moors ceased to combat, and drew up to the 
summit of the mountain. 

It was then that the Christians had time to breathe, and to ascertain the 
sad loss they had sustained. Among the many valiant cavaliers who had 
fallen, was Don Francisco Ramirez of Madrid, who had been captain- 
general of artillery throughout the war of Granada, and contributed 
greatly by his valor and ingenuity to that renowned conquest. But 
all other griefs and cares were forgotten, in anxiety for the fate of Don 
Alonzo de Aguilar. His son, Don Pedro de Cordova, had been brought 
off with great difficulty from the battle, and afterwards lived to be mar¬ 
ques of Priego ; but of Don Alonzo nothing was known, except that he 
was left with a handful of cavaliers, fighting valiantly against an over¬ 
whelming force. 

As the rising sun lighted up the red cliffs of the mountains, the sol¬ 
diers watched with anxious eyes, if perchance his pennon might be de¬ 
scried, fluttering from any precipice or defile; but nothing of the kind was 

* Abarca, Anales de Aragon , Rey xxx. cap. ii. 


678 


APPENDIX. 


to be seen. The trumpet-call was repeatedly sounded, but empty echoes 
alone replied. A silence reigned about the mountain summit, which 
showed that the deadly strife was over. Now and then a wounded war 
rior came dragging his feeble steps from among the clefts and rocks ; 
but, on being questioned, he shook his head mournfully, and could tell 
nothing of the fate of his commander. 

The tidings of this disastrous defeat, and of the perilous situation of 
the survivors, reached King Ferdinand at Granada ; he immediately 
marched, at the head of all the chivalry of his court, to the mountains of 
Ronda. His presence, with a powerful force, soon put an end to the 
rebellion. A part of the Moors were suffered to ransom themselves, and 
embark for Africa ; others were made to embrace Christianity; and those 
of the town where the Christian missionaries had been massacred, were 
sold as slaves. From the conquered Moors, the mournful but heroic end 
of Alonzo de Aguilar was ascertained. 

On the morning after the battle, when the Moors came to strip and 
bury the dead, the body of Don Alonzo was found, among those of more 
than two hundred of his followers, many of them alcaydes and cavaliers 
of distinction. Though the person of Don Alonzo was well known to the 
Moors, being so distinguished among them both in peace and war, yet it 
was so covered and disfigured with wounds, that it could with difficulty 
be recognized. They preserved it with great care, and, on making their 
submission, delivered it up to King Ferdinand. It was conveyed with 
great state to Cordova, amidst the tears and lamentations of all Anda¬ 
lusia. When the funeral train entered Cordova, and the inhabitants saw 
the coffin containing the remains of their favorite hero, and the war- 
horse, led in mournful trappings, on which they had so lately seen him 
sally forth from their gates, there was a general burst of grief through¬ 
out the city. The body was interred, with great pomp and solemnity, in 
the church of St. Hypolito. 

Many years afterwards, his granddaughter, Dona Catalina of Aguilar 
and Cordova, marchioness of Priego, caused his tomb to be altered. On 
examining the body, the head of a lance was found among the bones, re- 


APPENDIX. 


679 


reived without doubt among the wounds of his last mortal combat. The 
name of this accomplished and Christian cavalier has ever remained a 
popular theme of the chronicler and poet, and is endeared to the public 
* memory by many of the historical ballads and songs of his country. J'or 
a long time the people of Cordova were indignant at the brave count de 
Urena, who they thought had abandoned Don Alonzo in his extremity; 
but the Castilian monarch acquitted him of all charge of the kind, and 
continued him in honor and office. It was proved that neither he nor 
his people could succor Don Alonzo, or even know of his peril, from the 
darkness of the night. There is a mournful little Spanish ballad or 
romance, which breathes the publi c grief on this occasion; and the popu¬ 
lace, on the return of the count de Urena to Cordova, assailed hi*u with 
one of its plaintive and reproachful verses :— 

Count Urena! count Urefia I 

Tell us, where is Don Alonzo ! 

(Dezid Conde de Ureua ! 

Don Alonzo, donde queda ?) * 

* Bleda, lib. 5, cap. 26. 


THE END. 


































' f -P- ° >AV - ’' * -V* ^ 

- *+ V - V;, x v 

A O y « * ^ '■ 

.A' <■ v 1 " * O. -V) < -r -JT, 

1 O b * -«-< ' ^ 

■-■- * , X -• • ■* s 

° 0 

/ o NV ^ *C'^^ "\* 0 

? </° *° V > N \<*°, % ir<M A \o v 

• % ^ % / . 

^ V - JKoter# <1 , ^ ' , ; 



.'" fi \K * 

—' " •. ^- • * 

,0‘ ^ f ' / vy \ s ' -\ 

.o' .»*■'■* A * * A . 11 * 
0 * ^ ,A 

<x ^ y a\ 

o or “ * A 

0 o 




.^ v % «j x a% 

A> - -4 \9 

%. y o 4 K* ^ 

x ♦ => 0 - c ° N f -\» 

t\ . 0 k'^(P 


\ 0 "it- 



’O k a 

* ) S 0 ~ \V 

* C* V' 

✓ -v 





A * \ . 

'**' A * x „<■'"« Y C. 

v " %' A .A'- **<1%*,* 



y 0 * X * ^0 

,v v 0 6 * ^ 


0 

>> 

V. > • 







^ \ 


oo 


A = £ •<; 

Or ^ ^ 

’ \A V *. 

* v ^ 
<* \X> r - '•'•■ • - 

- ^ «* * A%{k 


> \ \ 5R\K 

llt ;v--‘V 








✓* 


S V A * ' O , K * .o' vi i 

; ^ * ;X .y 

• Oo - * l 4 " vf 

c o xX ^ *->' p 

a »ni 4 ' A y , * o m o ’ X V X ^ * 1 ' 

% +rt8B*t'. • fS - 

.0^ 

'•> 


\ 0 ' 




y T 

-' , v ^ x ' r K © 
> <>* 



^ ,f' 

91 


aV '^. 

^ A 




^ ; h^;. \ ^ :>M 

-A ’^* / % % ^ 

* o. o ■ . ° ’ '■ ^ ^ A °' B .I 

?*••' r oo' : ^ v , s 

< ./, _ 9' 1 ji J y .0o * ^ 

o> V> ^ ^ \ xf. 

^ s' pj) /• 

A ,. 0 ■ ;! >. *,,. _„° 

V v ^ ^ 0 1- S 

> , N , 1 .' ^ 

^ ,^ V "A''?./;\° ’^v c9- o y-\ « •- v 



., S Ky^ <: 
/^ r J v o j •/ 

! Si " ^ % ♦ A. J 


; A \ xV - i 

T> •>>, •> 



'f.--o*K- A 0 <r / a <, x s .a o / „ , v 'S ,^ v 

O. .0’ X 0 0 Q ^ \A' « v 1 s k o p.> 0 N ( j 

.^:.v=-v/, x , .0 . \. CP I ■ 

'oq' = - |S% ' *■ V 

v 0 o 



^ ^C{yL ^ 

0 / > ' S ^ • '■ / ^ ^c- 

^ - aA ^ rfK^ffcv X - 

•<b. tf A Or 

° A- %* - 























% 

<v 

V 



</»- 

- f * 

v> f \ X 

s ‘\ 

•x 

0 


•\ 



y ' • \ ris 'it r \> v 

, < * * s" ,\ x XB ^ 0 * * * <C' V 

<P A' * ' 1 B * ' 0 ,x> o 

* v V 1 '3 C.° • 

' v ^ -' ei -■«• « 

• •* f "’-I ,r,' O O' 

iOc y * "' o 

V X. ✓ *tf C 

\* * 

C#v <■ 


' ' Xf' \ 0o -c. * ?' • . A -r 

\T , .„ *>. * » , V ■' f° , , %. *»S 0- .# 

•' " A 9 ' s'l^, " C- 0 «■'*“/ 

♦ | *&*'._** ^ -*■**« *' 

X 





X 






j0 .<• 1 », ? b_ 

o 

v 0 O. * v * 8 





,\ 




>> 








•X \ 








•X. 

<r> rO 




'» s 0 v V ^ ^J,! 4 

V- % * * « / > 

'X T* 






v 


A* '-^ 


x> 

^ - ^ X. y, 




w/% vsusr* ^ 

** / 

.o' . » s '• * -V ‘ * vi> . . ' ' * « ’o , .o' . o - c ■<*' 

* .... * -f i . ■'6 ' 1 O i, v x * -Uo 

\\ ' 0- ^ X, X 

c ■ A V - ° 0 x 

0 

'.Al^X ° xV ^ 

\^ (0 

* 9 . 

^ • vV 


X 


0 


\ v 


t •- -J% \\ ff* /% 

X o > •* .X 

1 1) „ X ^0 ^ 

0 s v ^ x . v 1 * * o .-O' t 0 N y * X 

/ •$ ^ x X' %/, X, x N 

s .<- * ® ^5 

^ ❖ ,. 0 ■> X / * 9 , \ * -O' "O b , 

'»/c- V' ^ o > a° ! % v 

y <* 4f ^ '- «?' - - Q '. ; .x ,x 

V A • -W t?/ / Z ' / 

. ^ x t .. \jy - X* 

¥ * * a O ' 

fv V V T 


\ X 


■i* ■<> 

:: - c y* 

■ -'-o X ^ '•, 

' * rA ■»(. X"' **''.*'' .' 1 * * °' l b. 





















